Internet Facts from Start to 2000

Authors do not worry about promoting articles. solutions available

2006-02-05T01:08:00.000-08:00

I was looking for a blog service, to write my experience for public, but there wasn"t any good service, which support the bulk messages, and a disappointment for me was that, nobody support the bulk messages, then I realize that I need a blog host service or service for my experience where I post my own and worlds great authors.

As a marketing I know that there are many good sources available on the net, but due to non marketed website"s the authors and the experience is hided and search engine not cover the sites.

For that I decide to install a blog script on my host, to share the experience of the best experienced, beginners and student can write there information, on the internet.

As my experience I promote website through email marketing, link exchange, traffic exchange, Seo, and other new strategies.

I have an articles directory, named : www.articles4free.com where I personally like authors and beginner can post there experience as an author to my directory, now installed a blog script for them, both way they have to sign up to create there profile and post the same to appear in search engines.

General issues are also part of our discussion for that I have an forum www.ismaili-net.com where a complete discussion and solutions for us. A blog and forums are the best solution to promote your experience.

If you like to post the experience on complete blog host, Its my pleasure that I have enabled it for the public to sign up with us, www.blogsbasket.com and the ping service and the search engine friendly script will let you become a popular personality.

I am planning to develop a new blog script for the readers. best on text material, mean an static html files provide articles and information for the searchers on www.text2read.com

Ibrahim Machiwala (Lodhi) CEO of Articles4free.Com, 26Yrs Old, 7yrs Experience of Internet Marketing, Web Promotion SEO.
Articles4free, Blogsbasket, Ismaili-Net, Mr.Pakistan, Text2Read

Same Workout, Better Results

2006-02-04T23:38:00.000-08:00

Bored with your workout? Audio books make your workout bearable-- even enjoyable. Whether you are a frequent gym-goer, or someone who occasionally works out, listening to audio books during your workout will sharpen your results. There are many ways for the fitness-minded to utilize audio books-- about as many as there are different exercise routines.

Here are just a few ways listening to books to get better results from the same workout you"ve been doing.

1. Build your stamina. If and while you jog, listen to an audio book. Doing so will increase your stamina. In other words, the audio book will take your mind off the physical activity. You will then feel inclined to jog longer; thus you will burn more calories and shed more pounds. Of course, this can also be done with other types of exercise, like weightlifting, but this is one of the more common ones.

2. Workout on the go/While travelling. If you want to build muscle tone, or simply want a great workout, The Enroute Workout Personal Trainer will help you do so even when you think you cannot. This workout was created for all types of people. It instructs the listener on how to keep in shape during travel or the daily commute to and from work each day. You will learn how to improve your circulation, muscle tone, prevent limbs from falling asleep and do a number of other things without even getting out of your seat!

3. Try a new workout. Audio books can teach you a new workout-- like yoga. Yoga Sanctuary, by Shiva Rea, is a great learning tool for beginners (the compact disc is accompanied by an instructional booklet) and for those farther along who already have some basic knowledge of hatha yoga. The strengthening and relaxation techniques offered on this recording are also accompanied with beautiful music that only serves to increase the student’s relaxation. It is also a flexible course in yoga in that there is no harm in shuffling the exercises-- they can be learned in any order.

4. Get Motivated. Getting in shape is a rigorous task-- this is where it will help to have your own motivational speaker. Anthony Robbins probably comes to mind and he has many of his own titles available on compact disc for your benefit-- including Awaken the Giant Within. Perhaps your goal is to lose weight and have a slimmer body, or to have a more muscular one; Mr. Robbins’ audio books can give you the motivation and the confidence to achieve it. Listen to them while doing your bench presses and see how they transform your workout and your life.

5. Audio books can prevent you from giving up on the healthy lifestyle. One of the biggest problems people face when changing to a heatlthier lifestyle is that oftentimes many changes won’t continue with it past a week’s time. Incorporating audio books into your exercise routine will inspire you to work out on a more regular basis. If listening to The Living Language Series in the gym is something you enjoy, then of course you’ll find yourself returning more and more to the gym.

6. Meditate using audio books. Pick out an audio book dealing with meditation. Why? Meditative breathing is the simplest concept in the world: basically, you must breathe in through your nose and exhale from your mouth. While this is occurring, you must try and concentrate on your breath or some other object. Of course, there are variations to this type of meditation-- but the bottom line is that meditation has its health benefits. For one, it allows for more oxygen to reach the brain-- most people’s brains are starving for it because they do not know how to breathe correctly. Are you trying to lose weight? Meditation will develop your metabolism for the better.

Again, let audio books revolutionize your workout. If you do, you will see drastic results for your own overall fitness. Not just that, but you’ll come out healthier minded in the long run, too. And on top that, audio books make getting in shape enjoyable.

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Google Big Daddy SearchQuake About to Rock Your Ranking?

2006-02-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

Every year February 14th is celebrated as a day for love, exchange of gifts, promises of eternal passion, and more. The inspired pen poems inspired by their love and admiration for the women of their dreams while others just go to shops and buy commercially available verses.

Valentines means candy, chocolates, perfume, red hearts, balloons, and more. Have you ever wondered when the celebration first originated? Well in ancient Rome, February heralded the coming to spring a time for rejuvenation, fertility, and growth.

In ancient times, Romans celebrated in February a festival to honor the god of fertility who provided them with progeny and ensured a god crop. In Rome February 15th was celebrated as the feast of Lupercalla and Feb 14th as a holiday in honor of Juno the queen of Roman gods and goddesses. On the eve of Lupercalla a glass jar was filled to the brim with chits on which were penned the names of all eligible girls. Then young men would draw a chit each from the jar and the girl whose name was on the chit would be his partner for the celebration. This was a method by which ancient Romans introduced eligible boys and girls to one another.

Much later in the 3rd century BCE when Emperor Claudius II ruled Rome there lived a priest called Valentine. And when Claudius passed a decree that young men in his empire were not to marry, Valentine defied him and used to consecrate marriages secretly. He was sentenced to death and thrown into prison. While awaiting his execution Valentine penned a letter to his love and signed it “from your Valentine.” After his death Valentine became a martyr and saint and was popularly known as St Valentine.

Wonderful legends are woven around Valentine’s Day. In Wales young people exchanged as gifts wooden spoons which were hand carved with decorations of hearts and key holes. The decorations conveyed “you hold the key to my heart or you unlock my heart.” In other places women were given gifts of clothes and if they accepted the gift then it conveyed that they were wiling to marry the man who has sent the gift.

In 1415, Charles, the Duke of Orleans is known to have penned, from his prison in the tower of London , what were known as “poetical amorous addresses” to his wife in France, he is believed to be one of the earliest creators of valentines.

Just as companies like Hallmark sell cards for Valentines Day in the 15th century people bought little booklets with verse in them ---they then made their own valentines using the verse to express their thoughts. For example a valentine could have the hand drawn illustration of a knight and his lady with Cupid the god of love shooting arrows into the knight’s heart. In the US it was after 1723, that popularity of the celebration grew. People imported the “booklets of verse” all the way from England and copied the verses on to gilt edged papers. Then a Ms. Ester Howard in around 1830 decided to be original and create American Valentines that were marketed as Worcester Valentines.

Since then with changing centuries and tastes the celebration has taken on new hues with young men and women, children, as well as older couples creating newer ways to celebrate and declare their undying love.

Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for http://www.1888PressRelease.com/Lifestyle-0-24.html, the premier website to Submit Free Press Release for any announcements including launching of new product or services, new website, announcing new hires, sponsoring a special event or seminar and more. He also freelances for http://www.1888Articles.com/love-articles-178_19.html

How to Write Attention-Grabbing Introductions That Will Instantly Hook Your Reader

2006-02-03T00:13:00.000-08:00

“How can you get more readers?” you may often ask as a writer. Or perhaps, “How do I get an editor to read my submissions?” First, you’ll need an attention-grabbing title. But after that you’ll need an introductory paragraph that compels the reader to plunge into the rest of the article with a “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” attitude. In other words, you need to hook onto an emotion. Here are five ways to open an introductory paragraph that locks on to your reader and deftly holds their attention to get your article read all the way through.

1. Start your first sentence with a question

The question, “Is writer’s block an avoidable condition?” would open a Grand Canyon-sized lead for an article which delves into the intricacies of one of our most commonly broached topics. Writer Lesa Kuma started off her holiday piece with; “Did you remember Iguana Awareness Day?” (Well, did you?) A controversial question can be even more effective for grabbing the reader’s attention in that all-important introductory paragraph. The question, “Check It In or Carry It On? opened Steve Roche’s piece on getting your media materials through airport security. After asking the opening question, give your answers point by point leading your reader along the path to discovery. Questions anyone?

2. Start your first sentence with a quotation

When I wrote an assigned piece on the qualities of a good language teacher, I opened with a poignant quote by Abraham Lincoln, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” This could be used with any article addressing being “good at” or “the best” at something. The opening quote sentence, “Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it” said Joseph Pulitzer, was used to open an article on giving more powerful presentations Dig up a good, relevant quote or two (or three) and open your piece with one of them. Work in its relevance with an explanation or analogy and you’re off and running with the reader’s full and faithful attention.

3. Start your first sentence with an opposing opinion

Give a strong opinion on a topic that is the opposite of the position that you are planning to take in your article. For example, the statement, “Coffee is not addictive.” opens an article by Rich Maloof for MSN Health & Fitness, which goes on to explain that coffee is habit-forming and has been linked to Osteoporosis. Another example, the Frank Jones article, “Fluency in Spanish in 2 Days or Less” goes on to explain the virtual impossibility of learning a language in such a ridiculously short time. The contrast of opinions adds a measure of depth to the article that lends value and credibility.

4. Begin with an anecdote or short narrative

“Sweat erupted all over the man’s body. The strain of pulling against the as yet unseen force below rippled the muscles in his arms and torso. Blood ran in trickles down the opaque monofilament line cutting into his hands dripping into the open Pacific Ocean as if to some instinctive ritual rhythm. On the next pass a cold, unblinking left eye met his. Knowing it was hooked, the shark bolted for deeper water nearly capsizing the canoe. He thought of his wife and children. Tomorrow would be Christmas. But today, one of them was going to die.” This dramatic narrative served as the introduction to a creative non-fiction piece about the dangers shark fishermen face on a daily basis.

“Suddenly, waves of sound crash over you Iike an ocean surf. Breaking out in a sweat, your heart pounds to the rhythm of bass, bongos, bells and brass. The walls pulsate. The pungent smell of perspiration mixed with perfume assaults you. As your eyes adjust to the dark, broken by hypnotic flashes of the multi-colored strobes, you realize it’s not walls that enclose you, but dancers- scores of dancers gyrating, weaving and swirling, limbs flashing, hips thrusting iii quarter-time beat. You fill your lungs with the spicy aroma. Tighten your belt a notch and plunge in. Welcome to Chango’s.” Another anecdotal opener I used for an article on Salsa music published in South American Explorer magazine.

Long a writing staple, an entrancing opening narrative is an almost never-fail tactic for snagging and holding reader interest. There’s nothing like a good anecdote to set the scene for an article. Once the reader is “involved” with the opening narrative or anecdote, they’re set up to continue, much to your delight. Remember, humor works well too as long as it’s related to the story.

5. Make your first sentence with an interesting fact

Kate Daley’s article for Men’s Health magazine opens with; “If your throat tickles, scratch your ear.” There’s nothing like an interesting or offbeat fact related to your topic to pique the curiosity of your readers. They’re bound to keep going as long as you keep up the pace with snappy writing that continues to draw them into the story. “About 75 percent of expecting mothers have ultrasounds (also known as sonograms)” was in the opening of an ultrasound advice piece in Parents magazine. Using a statement of fact opener works best when the fact is an unusual, quirky or startling one.

Try some of these time-tested methods for breathing life and star quality into your article openings. You’ll get the reader’s (and the editor’s) attention and pave the way for your in-depth research, poetic word play and riveting writing to get read. You can get some coin of the republic passed your way in the process too. Now wouldn’t that be nice?

Larry M. Lynch is a writer and photographer specializing in business, travel, food and education-related writing in South America. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape From America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines in print and online. He travels researching articles throughout Latin America and teaches at a university in Cali, Colombia. To read more, express a comment or get original, exclusive articles and content for your newsletter, blog or website, contact the author at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

RADI ABDULLAH (225-268/840-881)

2006-02-02T23:44:00.000-08:00

Hussain bin Ahmad or Abu Abdullah, surnamed az-Zaki, known as Hussain ar-Radi, or Radi Abdullah (Servant of God who is satisfied and content), was born in 210/825 and assumed the Imamate in 225/840. He is also called Muhammad and al-Muqtada al-Hadi. His also kept his identity secret being represented by his hujjat, Ahmad, surnamed al-Hakim.

Tabari (3rd vol., p. 2232) refers to his son, al-Mahdi under the name of Ibn al-Basri (the son of Basra), emphasising the connection of Radi Abdullah with southern Mesopotamia and the adjoining province of Khuzistan.

The Abbasid caliph al-Mutasim (218-227/833-842) was followed in succession by al-Wasik (227-232/842-847), al-Mutawakkil (232-247/847- 861), al-Muntasir (247-248/861-862), al-Mustain (248-252/862-866), al-Mutaz (252-255/866-869), al-Muhtadi (255-256/869-870) and al- Mutamid (256-279/870-892).

Radi Abdullah is celebrated in devoting time to complete the task of his father, his teachings and institutions. In his time, the faith of the Ismailis spread by leaps and bounds with galloping speed through out the length and breath of Arabia.

Radi Abdullah was an erudite scholar and is celebrated to have epitomised "Ikhwan as-Safa" into an instructive synopsis (al-jamia). Its full name was "ar-Risalat al-Jamia" (the comprehensive espistle). It served as a substitute for the Epistle of "Ikhwan as-Safa" and was intended for private circulation among the more advanced members of the groups. The al-Jamia is the backbone of the Epistles, which was further summarized in "Risalat al-Jamiat al-Jamia an al-Zubdah min Rasail Ikhwan as-Safa" (the condensation of the comprehensive epistles, or the cream of the epistles of Ikhwan as-Safa).

It must be known that the monograph of "ar-Risalat al-Jamia" was awarded the first Howard Bliss Prize by the American University of Beirut in 1929, and was subsequently published serially in the Journal of that institution, vide "al-Kulliyat" (vol. xvii, 1930-1).

Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Maymun
He was born in 204/828 and had joined the Ismaili mission at youth. He conducted his activities in Iran and Iraq. His father had sent him with a deputation to make a survey in Yamen, where he collected the informations for the headquarters and also travelled as far as Bahrain. After his father"s death in 260/874, he returned to Salamia, where Radi Abdullah promoted him to the rank of hujjat. He was known in Salamia as Ahmad al-Hakim, and died in 275/888. He was a man of great ability and is credited with having surveyed the above regions for forthcoming mission works.

Mission of Ibn Hawshab in Yamen
Radi Abdullah had dispatched his dais in all directions, the most acclaimed among them was Abul Qassim Hasan bin Farah bin Hawshab, generally known by the epithet, Mansur al-Yamen (the victorious one of the Yamen). Ibn Hawshab was originally a Twelver, and is said to have spent most of time in a secluded spot on the bank of Euphrates. In such state, he is reported to have met Radi Abdullah and discoursed with him on religion. Imam left him after promising to see him again. Ibn Hawshab was impressed by his chance meeting with the Imam, and was eager to further meeting. After an anxious wait for several days, the Imam did not appear again, thus he became restless and began to search him. Despite his frantic efforts to locate the Imam"s whereabouts, he could not trace him. After sometimes, he accidently met the Imam"s deputy, and through him, Ibn Hawshab eventually succeeded in reaching the Imam"s presence. Radi Abdullah answered his queries to his satisfaction and assuaged his doubts, and at length he espoused Ismailism. Radi Abdullah imparted him the knowledge of Islamic creed, tenets and esoterism.

When the Imam found that Ibn Hawshab was firmly grounded in Ismaili faith and groomed enough for the responsibility of its promulgation, he jointly entrusted him and his colleague, Ibn Fazal, with the task of Ismaili mission in Yamen. Before they set off on their venture, Radi Abdullah summoned them in a private audience and urged to respect each other, and avoid any sort of religious difference. He also entrusted Ibn Hawshab with a voluminous tome which comprehensively dwelled upon the exoteric and esoteric aspects of Ismaili faith. Thus, being equipped with verbal as well as written guidances, both of them set forth on their mission to Yamen in 266/880. Mecca was their first destination, and accosted the pilgrim caravan from Yamen. They proceeded at last to Yamen, and after reaching, both of them separated. Ibn Hawshab headed towards the southern region, and focused his mind on the village of Adanla"a, thickly populated by the Shiites. He married to a local woman and settled down in Adanla"a under strict taqiya. He succeeded to convert the inhabitants. When he found the time appropriate to reveal his identity, he discreetly started his mission, inviting the people to the Ismaili fold and accepting oath of allegiance on behalf of Radi Abdullah and his successor. On other side, Ibn Fazal also followed similar tract, and succeeded in winning the sympathy and adherence of the people of Saroyafoa.

Ibn Hawshab had managed to take possession of a stronghold constructed on a hillock and made it his headquarters. He arranged military training for his followers. He also took possession of Jabal al-Jusaysah and Jabal al-Maswar. Ibn Hawshab however assured the people that his campaigns were neither after booty nor personal glory, but these were meant to promulgate true Islamic message through Ismailism. Finally, he conquered Sana"a, the capital of Yamen, and exiled the ruling tribe of Banu Laydir, and established Ismaili authority in Yamen.

The Ismaili mission reached the apex of its influence in Yamen, from where Ibn Hawshab dispatched many dais to the farthest corners. Thus, Yamen became a vital zone and an important hub of Ismaili dawa. In the time of Radi Abdullah, Abu Abdullah al-Shi"i had embraced Ismailism, who was sent to Yamen for further training. Ibn Hawshab was loyal to the Imam till his last breath and died in 302/914. While reading his biography, we will greatly move the streak of intellectual honesty which ran through his very nature.

Khalaf al-Hallaj
Abdullah bin Maymun (d. 260/874) is reported to have also sent a dai called Khalaf al-Hallaj, the cotton-dresser to Ray in about the middle of the third century with the instructions: "Go to Ray, because there are many Shias in Ray, Aba, Qumm, Kashan and the provinces of Tabaristan and Mazandaran, who will listen to your call." Khalaf went to the neighbourhood of Ray and resided in the district of Fashafuya, in a village called Kulin. He examined the local situation and started his secret mission. His secret activities however attracted attention, therefore he moved to nearby city of Ray, where he died. He is remembered as the founder of Ismaili dawa in Iran, and the converted people locally became known as Khalafiyya. He was succeeded by his son Ahmad, whose chief disciple was Ghiyath from the village of Kulin.

Radi Abdullah continued his peaceful living in Salamia, associating the local Hashimites. He also kept on good terms with the local governor. He seems to have been active in scholarly matters without a bearing in the politics. He was rolling in plenty; yet he contented himself with plain dress and simple food. He was humble in disposition and very hospitable. He is said to have granted allowances from his wealth to the poor and disabled persons in Salamia without discrimination between the Ismailis and non-Ismailis. Tradition has it that he was fond of horsing, shooting, hunting and archery, which had been also a favourite pastime of the Hashimites in Syria.

When Radi Abdullah felt that the shadows of his death were closing upon him, he consigned the office of Imamate to his son, Muhammad al- Mahdi, saying, according to Ibn Khaldun that: "You are the promised Mahdi. You would take refuge in a remote land after my death, where you would have to submit to hard trials." (vide "Tarikh", Karachi, 1966, 5th vol., p. 93).

Radi Abdullah died in 268/881 at Salamia while he was travelling in the vicinity, appointing before his death as his trustee his own brother, Muhammad bin Ahmad, surnamed Sa"id al-Khayr as the guardian of his son, al-Mahdi. His death in 268/881 remarkably marks the termination of dawr-i satr (concealment period) in the Ismaili history.

Hidden Imams in Dawr-i Satr
It is worth mentioning that the most important aspect of the Ismailism, which deserves serious treatment is to keep everything secret under the garb of taqiya connected with their faith, tending their enemies to contrived baseless stories and myths against them. The veiled period (dawr-i satr) thus became benigh climate for them to cultivate different wrong genealogies of the Imams. Thus, the ancestry of the Fatimids has confounded the students of history due to divergent accounts given by the historians, which had been developed round the persons of the "hidden Imams" (aima"i masturin) during concealment period. The widespread Abbasid propaganda, the derogatory attitude of Sunnite and Shiite authors make difficult to decide one way or the other about the legitimacy of their claim. In the light of the Fatimid policy, we are inclined to believe that the Fatimids deliberately seem to have avoided discussing the matter of their ancestry. It emerges from this a safe conclusion that it was a preconceived plan of the Fatimids to keep their genealogy a top secret, owing to the intricate and dark passages it passed through and due to contradictions involved in the adoption of assumed names by the hidden Imams.

The variety of lineages suggested by the writers amounted to several hundreds, and the lineage between Wafi Ahmad and Radi Abdullah alone has been altered in no less than fifty ways. Since the hidden Imams had assumed different names in various regions to outsiders, in order to evade the vigilance of the Abbasids, the historians derived their informations on hearsay. The Ismaili Imams of that period were too cautious to disclose their true names; instead they assumed names, other than their owns and used for themselves the names of their dais. The hidden Imams, for the most part, could not pass the settled lives in specific places, but were known by names other than their own, sometimes by names of their dais and hujjats as a precautionary measure designed to ward off the danger of their persons being discovered.

The absence of detailed biographies of the three hidden Imams is also the result of their having lived in strict disguise. This seems quite probable, if one realizes the situation very seriously. What in fact would the popular memory preserve about the Imams when these were living ostensibly as local merchants, carrying on their business, associating with friends, directing their followers through secret agency of mission, marrying, educating their children, etc. The memory of these traditions is very meagre, retaining only reminiscences of the most important names and events. Similarly, the Ismaili dais also disguised as pious merchants of slightly lower standing, also left behind very trivial traces. Thus the leaving of any trace of their activities in writing was obviously avoided as much as possible. W.Ivanow writes in "The Rise of the Fatimids" (Calcutta, 1942, pp. 43-44) that, "Thus the long blank period in the story of the Imams, living in such conditions, cannot reasonably be taken as valid proof of the falsity of their claims to continuous succession from their original ancestor, Ismail b. Jafar."

Even though the period of concealment and fear of the Abbasids were no longer in existence, the Fatimids were insistent not to divulge the names of their earlier three hidden Imams, the link between Imam al-Mahdi and Imam Muhammad bin Ismail. It seems quite possible that these Imams had assumed names for more than one time, and hid their true names, and were too complicated to be clarified. The followers also seem to have given much priority on the Imam of the time, descending from Muhammad bin Ismail. This secrecy however led too much confusion and made it too hard to locate the real names of the hidden Imams. It is also a striking feature that these three hidden Imams are not mentioned by the early renowned Ismaili scholars, viz. Abu Hatim ar-Razi (d. 322/934), Qadi Noman (d. 363/974), Jafar bin Mansur al-Yamen (d. 365/975) and other authors of 4th/10th century.

Commenting the aggressive attitude of the historians, Ivanow writes in "The Rise of the Fatimids" (Calcutta, 1942, p. 29) that, "With their predominantly hostile tendency, each author vie with the others in inventing something more humiliating and scandalous for the dynasty." The diversity of the names of the three hidden Imams can be judged from the following list of some special surname and epithet, whose implications were intelligible only to the trusted followers, indicating a causative factor of the contradictions in the sources:

ABDULLAH : Radi, Ahmad, Abu Muhammad, al-Wafi AHMAD : Wafi, Muhammad, Abul Hussain, at-Taqi. HUSSAIN : Muhammad, Taqi, Ahmad, Abu Abdullah, az-Zaki, al-Muqtada al-Hadi, ar-Radi.

The fact about the Imams assuming the above code names in one or more times can be derived from the letter of Imam al-Muizz (341-365/953-975), which he routed in 354/965 to his dai in Sind, named Jaylam bin Shayban, which is preserved in the 5th volume of "Uyun"l-Akhbar" by Idris Imaduddin. According to "Expose de la Religion des Druzes" (Paris, 1838, p. 252) by de Sacy, "These men (hidden Imams) obliged to seek concealment, took sometimes one name and sometimes another, in order to shelter from the pursuit of their enemies." John Nicholson also writes in "Establishment of the Fatemide Dynasty in Northern Africa" (1840, p. 12) that, "They themselves have taken different names at different times in order to elude discovery."

According to "an-Naqdu"l-Khafi" by Hamza (cf. "Expose de la Religion des Druzes" by Silverstre de Sacy, Paris, 1838, p. 74) that the Fatimid Caliph, al-Muizz had once said: "I am the seventh in the second heptad." As is well known, al-Muizz was the 14th Imam in the second heptad. The Imams of the first heptad were seven and the seventh one was Muhammad bin Ismail, and the Imams followed after him were also seven to make al-Muizz as the 14th Imam. Hence, the 13th Imam was al-Mansur, the 12th was al-Qaim and 11th was al-Mahdi. It therefore emerges conclusively that there must have been three Imams between al-Mahdi and Muhammad bin Ismail, whose names were Abdullah (Wafi Ahmad), Ahmad (Taqi Muhammad) and Hussain (Radi Abdullah) from 8th to 10th in the sequence. W. Ivanow writes in "Ismailis and Qarmatians" (JBBRAS, Bombay, 1940, p. 74) that, "Being the fourth Fatimid Caliph, al-Muizz was the seventh Imam after Muhammad bin Ismail. Thus this formally rejects the theory of the Fatimids descending from Abdullah bin Maymun."

The statement of al-Muizz however does not contain the explicit names of the "three hidden Imams", but before that, it is known that al-Mahdi had sent a letter in Yamen, which reached there after his arrival in Mahdiya in 308/921. Jafar bin Mansur al-Yamen (d. 365/975) had quoted the letter in his "al-Fara"id wa Hudud ad-Din" (pp. 13-19), wherein the names of the three hidden Imams have been mentioned, viz. Abdullah, Ahmad and Muhammad. Dr. Sami Nasib Makarem writes in "The Hidden Imams of the Ismailis" (al-Abhath, 21, 1969, p. 24) in this context that, "If al-Mahdi"s letter is authentic, it is one of the oldest documents that have come to light until now, and, consequently a most reliable document, especially because it was written by the Caliph al-Mahdi himself."

Among the later Ismaili historians, Ahmad bin Muhammad an-Naysaburi, the author of "Istitaru"l-Imam", compiled under Imam al-Aziz (365-386/975-996) seems first to have mentioned the names of the three hidden Imams. Later on, such references appear in the works of Hamiduddin Kirmani (d. 408/1017), in his "Tanbihu"l-Hadi wa"l-Mustahdi" and "ar-Risalat al-Wa"iza". Idris Imaduddin (d. 872/1468) in "Uyun"l-Akhbar" and Hasan bin Nuh Broachi (d. 939/1533) in "Kitabu"l Azhar", had also advanced brief biographies of the three hidden Imams.

In sum, R. Strothmann writes in "Gnosis-Texte der Ismailiten" (Gottingen, 1943, p. 59) that, "The three Imams followed by Muhammad bin Ismail were in concealment: Abdullah al-Rida, Ahmad al-Wafi and Hussain al-Taqi, and finally the beginning of the Fatimid dynasty with al-Mahdi."

In 2005, IRS Was Bold, Aggressive and Relentless

2006-02-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

Prior to joining the Bush administration, Mark W. Everson was known as a hard-charger in the business world. A Texas businessman with a down-to-business, no-nonsense attitude, Everson was vice president of a $2 billion food services company and an executive with a French industrial company.

Now, halfway through his five-year term as commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Everson is gaining a reputation for being equally hard-charging in the public sector.

In fact, 2005 has proven to be quite a year for Everson. Collections up are. Document-matching is in full gear. And more taxpayers are being audited this year than last year.

What does this mean? The IRS, once known as an agency lax on collections and enforcement, has changed. “When I was before the Finance Committee in March 2003 for my confirmation hearing, I articulated three goals for the IRS: better serving the taxpayers; continued modernization; and enhanced enforcement activities to ensure everyone pays their fair share,” Everson said during a recent speech.

And it appears that he has accomplished those goals. This year, in particular, has been a banner one:

∑ Enforcement revenues are up 10 percent to a record $47.3 billion.

∑ Audit numbers are up 20 percent — from 1,008,000 in 2004 to 1,216,000 this year. In fact, the number equals the amount last achieved in 1998.

∑ Audits of taxpayers with incomes over $100,000 surpassed 221,000, the highest figure in 10 years.

∑ Audits of small business increased after years of decline. In fact, this year 17,867 small businesses were audited compared to 7,294 last year.

∑ Audits of corporations with assets over $10 million increased 14 percent over last year.

∑ Collections are also up. Levies and liens have recovered to their highest levels since 1998.

“I want to emphasize that these gains have been made while the IRS has continued to make strides in customer services,” Everson added during his speech.

But if the last year can serve as an example, it’s clear that the commissioner has every intention of remaking the IRS into a pit bull.

And if you’re one of the thousands of taxpayers cheating on taxes, even if for a small amount, you should be worried about that news.

Darrin T. Mish is an Attorney whose practice focuses on representing clients across the United States with IRS Problems.He is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. He can be reached at his website at http://www.getIRShelp.com

Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan ( Lisbon, 19 December 2005 )

2006-02-01T03:12:00.000-08:00

Remarks by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Signing Ceremony of the Protocol of Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Portugal and the Ismaili Imamat

President Sampaio
Prime Minister Socrates
Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Freitas do Amaral
Excellencies
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

I am deeply touched by the generosity of remarks by Prime Minister Socrates. I also thank President Sampaio, the Prime Minister, and the Government of the Portuguese Republic, for their kindness and warm welcome.

In its contemporary history, when our world, at times, has seemed to descend into chaos, and moral leadership into oblivion, Portugal has been an outstanding example of integrity and compassion. When crises have erupted beyond her shores, she has welcomed displaced populations of different cultures and ethnicities. This is, therefore, an appropriate occasion to acknowledge the lasting gratitude and permanent commitment of the Ismaili Imamat and Community to Portugal, a land of harmony and opportunity, that rejoices in her diversity as a wellspring of national strength.

It is a great honour and an immense source of happiness for me to be at this historic Palace of Ajuda to mark a milestone, as our valued relationship moves confidently forward. The Protocol of Co-operation between the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Ismaili Imamat, which we signed this evening, is the first such Agreement that the Ismaili Imamat has signed with a Western Government, and I am deeply convinced that it will bring clear benefits to our peoples and to many others.

For the Ismaili Imamat, the Ismaili Community worldwide and me, this is a highly important day. I, therefore, wish this evening, to illustrate the full significance which it has in our eyes, and which is the context in which His Excellency Professor Freitas do Amaral, the Foreign Minister, and I spent some exceptional time together in putting our final touches to this Agreement.

Portugal is a small country, with a long history, and its role in the world has been illuminated by peaks of glory. The Ismaili Community is a small community with a long history also illuminated by peaks of glory. Our respective histories have also, at times, been marked by conflict and internal challenges. They have often strengthened us. Portugal’s population is only slightly smaller than that of the Ismaili Community worldwide today. We have, therefore, very much in common, which underscores the logic of our new and formal relationship. But there are also differences.

Portugal is rooted in the centuries old Christian world, whereas the Ismaili Imamat is rooted in the centuries old Muslim world. Portugal’s influence has been essentially in Africa and South America, with an occasional presence in Asia. The Ismaili Community is significantly present in Central and South Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, but it is nearly totally absent from South America. What brings us together is not only our historical similarities and our mutual respect for our past, but our wish to work together better to address the opportunities and the problems which will confront us in the decades ahead. Our respective histories have taught us to place our trust in human values and to root them in an ethical view of life.

Our histories have taught us the value of dialogue, and that rarely, indeed very rarely, does anything good come out of conflict. Our world view is to engage with the problem of social exclusion in our societies and to contribute to building bridges across faiths and across nations, by linking diverse parts of the world.

I have no doubt that for you, whose historical roots are in the Christian world, it is as painful as it is for us Muslims, with our roots in the East, to watch an increasingly deep gulf growing between significant parts of our respective worlds. We cannot stand by as passive observers letting this gulf grow wider and wider, at the cost of future generations. If we have the will, which I am certain we share, we have the historical knowledge and the ethical foundations to move our world forward, to make it a better and more hopeful place, and to put an end to the storm of hatred which appears to be building up around us.

We are concerned, and most rightly so, that there is poverty among our respective peoples, and we cannot stand by watching this inhuman indignity become a permanent part of our societies, of our generations of today and tomorrow. We must work together to develop an arsenal of peaceful weapons to attack this plight which blights our times, and to try to make sure that those who are marginalised today can be certain that we are not blind to them, that we will not let their future generations live in the same hopeless world in which they themselves are seeking, often only in despair, to survive.

In confronting this situation we share the same need to build our civil societies for we both recognise that it is the civil society institutions of today, that, strengthened and expanded by tomorrow, have the highest probability of enabling people to help themselves out of the quagmire of poverty. Working together in the East and the West, we certainly have the greatest chance of being successful in multiple situations, such as responding to the needs of aging populations.

There are those who say that faiths divide. This may be true. But today we must explore every opportunity to have different faiths come together in addressing the problems of our respective societies. We come from the same common religious heritage, descendants of Abraham, and it is enjoined on us to address the problems of society on the same ethical premises.

You have created here in Portugal a moral and enabling environment for faiths to live in equity and mutual respect. I intend to do all in my power to work with other faiths here and elsewhere, to give practical meaning and quantifiable outcomes to our future partnerships.

The acute challenge for all faiths, both in terms of their principles and practice, is the scourge of poverty which, unfortunately, also afflicts sections of populations, especially minorities, even in the industrially advanced countries of the West. The tragedies they endure and the unknown dimensions of their plight have been highlighted by recent natural and other events. To their credit, their citizens and governments recognize it is intolerable that these pockets of misery should persist in self respecting societies.

It is in this light that, encouraged by the Government, and after careful assessments through years of independently commissioned studies and programmatic engagement, particularly in Early Childhood Education development, the Aga Khan Development Network has embarked on an Urban Community Support Programme in Portugal. This is designed to help marginalised groups, including cultural and ethnic minorities living in urban settings, develop their own capacity to move out of the poverty trap and achieve the benefits of social inclusion.

The Government and municipalities, the European Commission, leading civil society and business organisations are our partners in this moral enterprise known by its local name of Kapacidad, reflecting the conviction that people are inherently capable to look after themselves. I am most happy to acknowledge and welcome the presence here this evening of their representatives.

In global terms our numbers may be small, but our openness to addressing the issues of our time and of tomorrow, our willingness to bring mature judgment to our pluralist societies, are so strong, and so vigorously shared, that I believe the partnership we are founding today would enable us, with God’s support, to have a positive influence in the future which could far surpass the sizes of our demographies.

These are the reasons that have given birth to my conviction that this is truly an historic day.

These are the principles that underpin our long standing and fruitful relationship, inspiring the joint work we already do in Portugal and abroad in Mozambique, Afghanistan and … Pakistan. It is on these principles and experience that the Protocol of Co-operation builds. Both the Government and the Imamat are determined it does not remain just an expression of pious hope.

Thank you.

Mystery Writing: Incorporating Various Non-Legal Professions

2006-02-01T01:26:00.000-08:00

The mysteries of the "Golden Age" featured amateur detectives who became embroiled in solving crimes accidentally, meaning they just happened to be "on the spot" at the time the crime occurred.

In modern mystery novels, however, there seems to be a trend towards making the protagonist/amateur detective become involved with the mystery through his or her profession or hobby. One of my favorites of this type is Vicky Bliss, an assistant curator of the Munich National Museum in the series penned by Elizabeth Peters. Vicky"s adventures revolve around missing antiquities or stolen art.

Recently, I began reading The Blue Rose: An English Garden Mystery by Anthony Eglin. In this novel, two amateur gardeners experience crime and mayhem when they discover blue roses growing in the garden of the home they"d just purchased.

I believe, very strongly, that one should study the current market of one"s chosen genre to learn what is being published because, naturally, those are the novels that are being purchased. And it seems to me these types of novels are in much more demand than the usual "house party" mystery novels, in which the motives are purely personal.

Luckily for us, any type of profession or hobby can be used as the plot for a mystery. Below are a few suggestions.

1) A stockbroker uncovers an insider trading plot.

2) An English professor learns of a missing "Tale" written by Chaucer.

3) A fashion designer stumbles upon a gang of knock-off artists, when it"s revealed her Gucci bag is a fake.

4) A homemaker finds out unscrupulous people will do anything to obtain her great-grandmother"s recipes.

5) An amateur genealogist discovers an infamous branch on a family tree that someone will go to great lengths to conceal.

I appreciate these types of novels, rather than ones starring professional detectives, because they help me to imagine that ordinary people, like myself, can still achieve a little mystery and adventure in their lives.

Mary Arnold holds a B.A. in literature and history. She is an author on Writing.Com which is located at http://www.Writing.Com/ and is accessible by anyone.

Her writing portfolio may be viewed at http://www.Writing.com/authors/ja77521

Gulzar-E-Rahim Colony Metroville S.I.T.E. Karachi Pakistan (VIP Group)

2006-01-31T13:07:00.000-08:00

Buddy"s From Metroville. Pakistan.

Ibrahim Lodhi
Iqbal Jilani
Irfan Akber
Imran Mota
Shair Gund
Nasir Mufta
Malik Curtain

Secrets to Know Before You Buy Contact Lens

2006-01-30T10:20:00.000-08:00

Do you wear contacts, but only buy them from your eye doctor? Are you looking for a better alternative to buy contact lenses? If you have thought about buying your contacts from a source other than your eye care professional, you are not alone. The amount of people with a contact lens prescription that buy their contacts online or from warehouses is growing. What do you need to know before you buy contact lenses?

When you buy contact lenses, you need to focus on value and not on price alone. The overall value includes the availability of the contacts that you use, if they accept your insurance (and if you need to do paperwork or if they do it for you), ease of getting the contacts (do they deliver), their customer service department and price. Taking all of these points into consideration will help you to find the absolute best value for you.

The best places to start your search are, of course, your eye doctor, the internet and wholesale retailers as well as mail order houses. Be sure that you know exactly what type of contact lens you need to purchase before you agree to anything. Ask about their return policy if you receive a contact lens other than what you ordered.

You may be starting your search for contacts with preconceived notions as to which are the best source to buy contact lenses, throw those out! Do not discount any place that sells contacts, look into what they have to offer and what their prices are; you might be surprised at where you will find the best quality and price.

Did you know that you have the right to have your contact (and glasses) prescription copied so that you can shop around for eyewear? The legislation, in Feb. 2004 gave that right to consumers in all 50 states. This means that you do not have to buy contact lenses only from your eye care practitioner. You can shop around anywhere that contacts are sold. Doing this gives you a better selection at a better price.

John Mancini has been writing about Contact Lenses online and offline for a long time. Visit http://contact-lenses-home.info or http://contact-lenses-infos.com to read more about matters like cheap contact lenses and contact lens online.

Leadership and Overcoming Adversity: The Dr Blenda Wilson story

2006-01-30T05:03:00.000-08:00

This groundbreaking leadership research by has received extensive endorsements and enthusiastic reviews from well-known prominent business, political, and academic leaders who either participated in the study or reviewed the research findings. You will discover the proven success habits and secrets of people who, in spite of difficult or life threatening challenges shaped their own destiny to become successful, effective leaders. The full results of this research will be presented in the upcoming book by Dr. Howard Edward Haller which is titled “Leadership: View from the Shoulders of Giants.”

The nine initial prominent successful leaders who overcame adversity that were interviewed included: Dr. Tony Bonanzino, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, Monzer Hourani, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, Dr. John Malone, Larry Pino, U.S. Army Major General Sid Shachnow, Dr. Blenda Wilson, and Zig Ziglar.

The data from these nine research participants was materially augmented by seven more successful leaders who overcame adversity interviews including: Jack Canfield, William Draper III, Mark Victor Hansen, J. Terrence Lanni, Angelo Mozilo, Dr. Nido Qubein, and Dr. John Sperling.

Additionally, five internationally known and respected leadership scholars offered their reviews of the leadership research findings including: Dr. Ken Blanchard, Jim Kouzes, Dr. John Kotter, Dr. Paul Stoltz, and Dr. Meg Wheatley.

This is a short biography of one of the principal participants who generously contributed their time and insight for this important research into the phenomenon of how prominent successful leaders overcome adversity and obstacles. This Blenda’s story:

Blenda Wilson grew up in a small New Jersey town in the 1950s. Most people believed that the best Blenda could hope for was a low-paying office job, and that college was unrealistic and beyond her economic reach.

Blenda’s family had experienced racial discrimination. Her mother “was a bright black woman who had graduated from ‘normal school’ in the racially segregated deep south” of America, during the Depression. According to Blenda, her mother was a “very, very intelligent woman, [with a] powerful mind and fortitude.” She said, “My mother moved from Georgia . . . the north didn’t accept normal school [teaching] credentials, and so she became, throughout her working career . . . a white-collar worker, [a] salesperson at Sears, an elevator operator . . . [and] a girls’ supervisor in a juvenile detention home.”

Blenda’s father “went to technical vocational school . . . completed the [electrician] certificate, and in those days, to become an electrician, you had to be apprenticed. He was black and he could never get an apprenticeship, so he could never be an electrician.” He became a laborer instead of an electrician.

Blenda shared that her mother, who had experienced racial discrimination, insisted that her children “didn’t go out of the house dirty and slovenly . . . because she [had] lived in a really segregated south.” Her mother shared “stories where, if they were in town, and a white person was walking down the street, black people stepped off into the curb.” Blenda then described her own experiences with racial, gender and age discrimination.

Despite her membership in the National Honor Society at her high school in Woodbridge, New Jersey, her guidance counselor refused even to talk to her about going to college. Blenda’s comment was, “She was really mean to me. She never, ever gave me any counseling about college; she never invited me to college prep stuff.” Wilson said that on the contrary, “Actually, she told me to ‘take a typing class’ . . . then said, ‘You’re nice looking, and you might be able to become a secretary.’ Now that’s supposed to be a compliment.”

Wilson recalled, “Fortunately, I was riding a bus and heard some women talk about college opportunities, and how they had heard that women’s colleges were providing scholarships for smart black students. I thought, ‘That’d be me.’” Their conversation convinced Blenda that she could find such a college for herself and a way to pay for tuition, books, food, and housing.

Wilson wrote many colleges, seeking more information, applied for admission, and asked for full scholarships. “I got admitted to all of the colleges I applied to, and these were the colleges you know, they were the ‘seven sisters.’” She received scholarship offers from several major colleges, but initially they offered only one-year scholarships with a series of renewals.

Blenda commented, “I would just write them [the college] back and say, ‘I’d really love to come, but you have to give me more money!’” She continued, “I was determined to get a full four-year scholarship, to ensure that I could get completely through college, since I knew my parents could not afford to pay for me to go.”

Ultimately, “Cedar Crest guaranteed me four years’ tuition, [a] travel budget, and a job.” She graduated from Cedar Crest College with a major in English and Secondary Education. She went on to earn a Master’s degree in Education from Seton Hall, and then a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Boston College.

Early in her career she experienced gender and age discrimination from African American males, both in the community and within her organization. Though she was more qualified and more educated than her competition, some people were vocal in their opposition to her getting the job as Executive Director of the Middlesex County Economic Opportunity Corporation. Blenda said, “The African American men in the community were pissed off that a woman would get this role. . . . One of the criteria was that they wanted someone with a Master’s degree. I had one. None of the African American men did.”

Blenda said she experienced several kinds of prejudice: “There’s prejudice from men, there’s prejudice from black men, there’s prejudice from white people.”

Wilson said taking a leave from her local high school teaching position to become the Executive Director of the Middlesex County Economic Opportunity Corporation “actually changed my life. I started doing the Head Start program. There was political turmoil. This was all in the ‘60s, with the war on poverty, the Office of Economic Opportunity. I was going to change the world.”

Blenda “was youngest Senior Associate Dean in the Graduate School of Education at Harvard,” and once again she encountered age discrimination. Wilson shared that she had “worked with and was tutored by Dr. John Gardner” after leaving Harvard. After she left Harvard she became Chancellor of the University of Michigan. After that she became the President of California State University, Northridge for seven years, from 1992 to 1997, and led the university’s recovery from the Northridge earthquake in January of 1994.

In addition to having served as a Getty Foundation Trustee for over a decade, Dr. Wilson is the President and CEO of the Nellie Mae Educational Foundation in Quincy, Massachusetts. She is also a past chair of the American Association of Higher Education. Dr. Wilson serves as a trustee of the College Board, and she is Deputy Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Dr. Blenda Wilson still takes time out of her busy schedule to mentor and coach select prospective female prospective leaders.

Howard Edward Haller, Ph.D. is the Chief Enlightenment Officer of the Coeur d"Alene, Idaho based The Leadership Success Institute. His Doctoral dissertation in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga Univ. included interviews with prominent US leaders in business, politics & education.

The nine initial prominent leaders who overcame adversity included: Dr. Tony Bonanzino, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, Monzer Hourani, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, Dr. John Malone, Larry Pino, U.S. Army Major General Sid Shachnow, Dr. Blenda Wilson, and Zig Ziglar.

Then seven more leaders, who overcame adversity, were interviewed including: Jack Canfield, William Draper III, Mark Victor Hansen, J. Terrence Lanni, Angelo Mozilo, Dr. Nido Qubein, and Dr. John Sperling.

Five internationally known and respected leadership scholars offered their reviews of the leadership research findings including: Dr. Ken Blanchard, Jim Kouzes, Dr. John Kotter, Dr. Paul Stoltz, and Dr. Meg Wheatley.

http://www.TheLeaderInstitute.com

DIRECTV - What's It All About?

2006-01-29T07:48:00.000-08:00

As the owner and webmaster of a satellite tv comparison website I often get many questions about the different channels and options that are available with DIRECTV.

In my earlier articles I"ve discussed some of the basic differences between DISH Network and DIRECTV. In this article I will specifically discuss DIRECTV so that you may become more familiar with the packages that this company offers.

Let"s first take a look at the channel packages that are currently offered along with a brief explanation of each.

Available Channel Packages

Total Choice

This package features approximately 95 channels including many of the most popular channels. E!, TBS, USA, Comedy Central, CNN, Nickelodeon, ESPN, ESPN2, Discovery Channel, MTV, Food Network, and many more are found in this channel package. There are also a small number of XM music channels available for those who enjoy digital music. Many people find this to be an acceptable number of channels. However, if you"re interested in a larger selection of television and music channels you may be interested in one of the following.

Total Choice Plus

This package includes 33 more music and programming channels in addition to those featured in the "Total Choice" package. If you"re a music fan, the additional XM selections might make you choose this package instead of the "Total Choice" option.

Total Choice Premier

For the individual that likes to spend hours in front of the television the "Everything" package includes all of the channels currently offered by DIRECTV. Sports Channels, Music Channels, Educational Channels, and Lifestyle Channels are all included along with the commercial free movie channels.

Conclusion

As you can see there are a great number of choices for you to select from. It"s difficult for you to go wrong with any of these selections because of the huge availability of popular channels. If you"d like more information on DIRECTV please visit www.bestdishdealonline.com

Michael Hizer is a successful internet marketer and expert in satellite television and online shopping. You can find the best deals in satellite television at http://www.bestdishdealonline.com

Vitamin Supplements in a Liquid World

2006-01-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

Every day, it seems like we are living in an increasingly liquid world. I"m not preaching against the evils of alcohol or for a new era of prohibition that will save us from sin and politicians. After all, water is also a liquid, and it rarely inflicts us with either sin or politicians.

But we do expect everything to be excruciatingly easy these days, so liquid is the operating system of choice.

No time to eat? Grab a liquid breakfast and run. Why tie a knot in the umbilical chord connecting your bed to your desk? If you can find a long enough straw, just start slurping as you rise from bed, and smack your lips to the last drop as you whiz out the front door. Bye.

Remember when soap came in bars? Solid bars? Sorry, I guess I"m showing my age. Now everybody uses liquid soap. Yesterday I reached for the soap. No, wait. I reached for the hand cream. Or was it the soap? But what if it is the hand cream? Soap or hand cream? Which is which?

People used to nail siding onto the exterior of their homes. Now they just spray on "liquid siding". It comes in three tasty flavors: siding, ceramic and stucco. Yum.

And now they"ve taken my little vitamin supplement pills and liquefied them, too.

"Hold on just a minute. How do you know they liquefied the vitamin pills?"

Who said that?

"Are vitamins naturally solid? Or are they naturally liquid?"

Uh. I had to admit that I probably would not recognize a vitamin if I bumped into it in the street ... in which case I have a hunch it might be too big to swallow. Say, who is this?

"Where do you think vitamins come from, anyway?"

I always assumed they came from the back of the corner store in a small town in Indiana, but upon reflection, I suspect they might come from oranges and fish and milk. Who are you?

"Don"t you think it"s pretty hard to stuff a fish into a hard, little pill?"

I suppose The Voice has a point.

"You drink milk, don"t you?"

Yeah, but that"s because it"s liquid. Suddenly I recalled my dream from just last week. Cow after cow heading into a factory on a conveyor belt. At first I though it was the Annual Bovine Family Reunion, but on the other side of the factory, riding the same conveyor belt, were neatly sealed cartons of milk. Aaargh!

"Squeezed. Like an orange. You drink juice, don"t you?"

Yeah...but squeezing a cow?

"Just what do you know about liquid?"

I thought real hard. Everything comes in one of three states: gas, liquid and solid. Gas is like the politicians when they are talking. Liquid is like the politicians when they are hard at work attending cocktail receptions. Solid is like statues of politicians.

Everything comes in either gas, liquid or solid. That is about all I could remember of my high school chemistry. That, and how to explode a partially dissected frog. No, wait. That wasn"t chemistry class. Silly me. Why would we have a partially dissected frog in chemistry class. That was that other class. What was it called, again? Oh yes, "home economics".

"Did the frog contain vitamins?"

Not any more.

"Do you think it"s easier to pack vitamins into a tiny, hard pill or into a drink?"

I suppose it all depends on what kind of explosive you use. I tried to imagine squeezing a fish into a carton. But fish walking up a conveyor belt seemed just a bit radical ... and even less tasty than freshly squeezed cow. Besides, I might need to buy fishing gear to get my milk...er...fish juice from the carton.

"Liquid vitamin supplements are made only from plant ingredients."

That"s it. Keep your cow. Keep your fish. Keep your frog...what"s left of it. I"m going to for a pure liquid life.

My only question now is: Which one is the soap, and which one is the hand cream? And which one is my liquid vitamin supplement? I don"t want to drink the soap by mistake.

Article Source: http://www.articles4free.com

Read more humor articles by David Leonhardt. Get your very own vitamin supplements or read about specific vitamins and minerals.

Impressions of Siberia

2006-01-28T11:00:00.000-08:00

Mention the word “Siberia,” and images of gulags, frozen tundra and wastelands may come to mind. While there is some truth to these, my impressions of Siberia included more.

Siberia comprises more than 75 percent of modern Russia. Unless you visit, there is simply no way to describe the total landmass of this much-maligned area of the world. To give you some perspective, consider the fact that Siberia is bigger than Canada, has more natural resources than any area of the world, spans nine time zones and contains the largest plain in the world.

One of the best ways to give you an impression of the size of Siberia is to discuss the infamous gulag system. When one thinks of a gulag or prison, visions of guards with guns, electrified fences and so on come to mind. In Siberia, most of the gulags did not have fences or any kind of barrier to keep people in. With freezing temperatures in the winter, huge rivers of mud and water in the summer, Siberia formed a natural gulag for many of the prisoners. If a prisoner escaped from a gulag, there was simply nowhere to go. The closest population center might be 1,000 miles away.

“Siberia” comes from the Mongolian word “sibir”, which means "sleeping land." In the early 1700"s, Siberia became a place of exile. It continued to be "the last stop" for criminals and political exiles throughout much of the 20th century. The city of Chita is in fact known as the “City of Exiles.”

With the end of communism, Siberia has seen a voluntary migration of Russians who work on the Trans-Siberian Railway or in the massive natural resource industries. Siberia is the home to tremendously large oil, gold, timber and diamond deposits. With the turn to capitalism, the country is making a major effort to take advantage of such resources. This has led to a population explosion in cities such as Irkutsk, Chita and Ulan Ude.

Siberia is always depicted as a land of freezing snow. Having lived there, I can tell you it does get “Oh, my god” cold in the winter. Temperatures can drop into the -40s. In the spring and summer, however, temperatures can reach as high as 110 degrees. With such a massive area, the climates and temperatures fall all over the map. Put another way, the United States could fit in Siberia, so you can see how temperatures might vary.

Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is the largest fresh water lake in the world. Fed by over 300 rivers, the lake is really an inland sea. The lake has over 30 islands. If you drained all of the water from lakes Superior, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Ontario, you still couldn’t fill Lake Baikal. Standing on one shore, you cannot see the other side. It is simply huge.

Siberia is one of the few locations in the world still considered to be an untamed adventure travel destination. You can fish, hike, camp, hunt, drink vodka, ski, swim, take in a spa and do just about anything you like. The Siberians are universally friendly and can tell one heck of a story.

If you get a chance to visit Siberia, I highly recommend it. Heck, I stayed for a year!

Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of diary and writing journals. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com to read more about travel and the great outdoors.

Newbie Computer Tips-or Why Didnt Someone Tell Me About This Months Ago?

2006-01-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

So, you’re new to computers and you feel like you’re back in kindergarten … well, in a way, you are! Computers are new and very foreign to you right now if you’ve just recently sat down in front of one!

Just remember, because it’s so new you must approach it differently, just like you did in kindergarten! I don’t care if you’re 8 or 88, you need to recall the wonder, joy and excitement that you felt when you first started to learn something new!

Have fun with it! Explore … ask yourself, what does this do? Click on it … check it out! Above all … don’t be afraid of it … it won’t bite and it certainly doesn’t know more than you do … it just seems that way sometimes because it does things faster – that’s all.

Here’s a couple of tips for you to ‘give you a push’:

Look at your mouse and notice that it has 2 buttons and usually a wheel in between … use the Right button … Right-click on everything! Clicking on the Right mouse button will do one thing only … to show a context menu or a list of options pertaining to the selected object. For example, point the mouse arrow to an icon on your desktop and instead of clicking with the left mouse button, click with the Right and see what happens! You’ll see a menu with a list of many commands for that particular icon, one of which is ‘delete’ … if you move your pointer to the menu and then move the mouse you’ll see that you can select any one of the commands. Select ‘delete’ only if you wish to delete that one icon, by click on the command with you left mouse button.

Hocus-pocus! It’s done!

Windows Explorer is aptly named as it allows you to Explore your computer! Don't be afraid to look around on your hard disk. Look around in all your folders, and try all of the programs that you see when you click on the Start Menu.

How do you get to Windows Explorer? Easy! Left click on the start button in the left corner of your screen. Find ‘All Programs’ with an arrow pointing to the right and hold your mouse pointer over it until the larger menu pops up. Move your pointer to the right and then (usually) up until it lands on the Folder “Accessories”. When it does, the menu expands to show what is in that folder (other folders and programs), simply move your pointer to the right and down the list until it lands on Windows Explorer.

Left click on that program to open it. A window will open up that shows you the access that you have to your computer, usually starting you with “My Documents” (as it is in Windows XP). The Window that opens is divided into 2 sections, the left side shows a list of ‘places’ (folders) on your computer and whichever one is highlighted will show the other folders and files in the right hand side of the window. For example, My Pictures folder is found within My Documents folder.

So … open it up! Have fun! Explore!

Written by Debbi Baird, Co Owner, PC For Seniors Author of many technical articles in ‘plain English’ for the “Older Generation” and Trainer / Tutor / Consultant in the Palm Beach, Florida area. Go to http://www.pcforseniors.com to find more information on computers and The Internet in the “How Do I …” section of the web site! Also, check out our Hot Sites! Listing for links to great places to go online for Seniors! http://www.pcforseniors.com/html/hot_sites_.html

Free Pro Football Picks: Jacksonville At New England 1/7/06

2006-01-03T10:24:00.000-08:00

There is no question that the public loves the Patriots. The Patriots are starting to be considered a modern day dynasty in the National Football League. Coupled with the fact that everybody considers the Jaguars a joke, gives us a huge point spread.

There are a lot of reason to like the Patriots at home off of a regular season loss to the Miami Dolphins. Whether they threw that game or not, there is no way that these Patriots are going to go down easily but will their motivation get them to win beyond 8 points. At home in the unfriendly confines of Foxboro, it is possible.

There are also a lot of reasons to like the Jaguars. They are 12-4 this season but their losses came against Indianapolis, Denver, and on the road to St. Louis. The largest margin of defeat for any of their losses was exactly 8 points to the Indianapolis Colts. With the weather conditions in Foxboro in January the way it is, we expect a low scoring tight game.

Jacksonville is traditionally known as a defensive team but if you checked the game they ended the season with, they scored 40. They really had their offense rolling in their 16th game just like they had most of the season. They are trying to come into the playoffs with a lot of momentum but going against the confident veteran squad of the Patriots, they should struggle and it will be surprising to seem them win this game outright.

We suggest taking the Under 37 and the Jacksonville Jaguars +8 in this game as our Free Football Picks on January 7, 2006.

We provide free football picks to all the viewers to our website.

Easy Way to Start Your Own Business!

2006-01-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

You know that you will never get rich working a job.

You’ve probably heard the joke, J-O-B means Just Over Broke!

If you depend on a job for income, you are about 2 paychecks from being homeless. And let’s be honest. No matter how good you are at your job, they can never pay you what you are worth! They can’t.

If you produced $1,000 per week and the company paid you $1,000, they would go broke.

The only way you could get the entire $1,000 would be with your own company.

But how?

Let’s look at one of the easiest ways.

What do you do for a living now? Are you good at it? What jobs have you had in the past that you were good at? What hobbies or vocations are you skilled at? Are there any other interests you have that you have experience in?

Once you have decided what it is you can do, that you have experience in and hopefully are good at, go on the Internet and do some research.

You want to find out what the major problems in your industry are and if your skills can solve them.

Go to Google to find websites of companies in your industry. Look up forums where you can read postings to find out who the companies are, who the leaders in the field are and most importantly, what are the major concerns or problems plaguing the industry.

Read articles about the industry. Read industry press releases at Google, MSN and Yahoo to find out the latest goings on.

Can your skill set solve those problems? Are those problems shared by many people in the industry? Will they pay to solve them? How much? How much could a business make servicing this group? How will you reach them? Can you offer a better solution?

Study the businesses currently offering those solutions. Can you equal or improve upon their business models? How much will it cost to reach these people? Can you handle that cost?

When you find an industry where you can reach groups of people who will pay you big bucks for solving significant problems for them, its time to get started.

The web is a great place to start and to maintain a presence, even if your business is local because of the potential for making passive income from sales of products or information related to your business.

The quickest path to profit is to write a couple of articles about how you would solve some of these major problems you have identified.

Don’t worry if you haven’t written since junior high. They only have to be 4-600 words long. One of the easiest is something like, “5 Tips to overcoming…” or “Answers to the 5 biggest questions regarding….”

Submit your articles to an article directory; ezinearticles.com is a great one. In no time, you will be a published author in your field, with the credibility and trust accorded thereto!

In fact, you should start a website to host articles on your industry or field of interest. You can easily tap into ezinearticles or some other article directory service for an automatic feed of information on your field of interest!

Advertise and post links to your site in industry forums and chat rooms.

Visitors will be required to leave their names and emails to gain entry. This way you become known in the industry, you have great traffic and you are building a targeted list of people interested in your industry!

You can then poll them on what their problems are, what solutions they are looking for and at what price.

Then go to clickbank.com and find products and services that meet their needs from among their 10,000 products and services. Sign up and become an affiliate so that you can offer these products on your website. You may even develop your own products to offer.

Now you have your foot in the door of your own business. Expand it online and offline if feasible. You are on your way out of the Rat Race!

Copyright 2006 Bill Young. Bill is an ex-bank mortgage officer and licensed financial consultant. He is now a personal wealth consultant, author and lecturer on real estate, debt, credit and wealth building issues. He has just written a free, 5 part Mini-Course, “How to Stop Foreclosure!” to help people facing bank foreclosures: http://301url/StopForeclosures

Christmas Time

2005-12-28T08:05:00.000-08:00

As we ready ourselves to celebrate yet another Christmas to honor the birth of our Lord Jesus let us remember that this is a time to focus on the many blessings in our lives. Each day should be a day to focus on these things we hold dear that the Lord has brought to us but Christmas time is especially good for bringing these things that we should always notice to the forefront of our minds and our thoughts.

Christmas time is about giving and not only in the way of handing out material presents to one another that we purchase from the many stores we have to choose from but it's mainly a time of giving the most important things like an ear to someone who needs to be listened to or a coat for a small child who is need of one. Handing out and giving can be done best by giving someone a smile when they are feeling down or encouragement to get past the gloom they might feel in order to stand tall and move onward with joy.

Christmas time giving can mean giving a home to a small animal that otherwise would be alone and cold and miserable out in the elements with nobody to care for them. All these things make a difference in the world and they might not individually heal all that needs to be healed but each offering of kindness furthers the cause of bringing true love and peace to a world badly in need of these things.

A few material gifts are fine and are especially welcome from the children who wait for old Saint Nick to come and spread his joy to the children but among the joy of the material should also be a lesson that the best and most important gifts come from inside and are given from the heart and soul from one human being to another.

I feel that even as we watch the nightly news that tells us of the many sad and evil things of this world that goodness overcomes and goodness makes up the majority of the people of this world.

As the three wisemen were guided by the star of Bethlehem to the manger to witness the miracle of the birth of Jesus let's also use that same light that shines in us from Jesus to guide our hearts to do good deeds and make another human being feel special and cared for in the most important ways by the power of love and mercy.

Let the lesson of Jesus being turned away from the Inn inspire us not to turn away from someone or something that may be in need of our help and our light to shine on them. The power of the human spirit and the human heart can work wonders and the pureness of a kind act can turn wrong into right.

This holiday season let that same pureness flow from within your heart and into anothers and let's make Jesus proud to be our Father and our Lord by our actions that are inspired by his love for us.

May you and your family have a very blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year and may the light of the lord always shine upon you and carry you in your time of need.

http://jeffreymichaelmiller.bravehost.com

Best Diet - 3 Key Features Your Diet MUST Have For Weight Loss Success

2005-12-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

So you've made the resolution that THIS is the year you're going to lose weight and get in the best shape of your life. You're not going to settle for second best - you're going to achieve that dream body you've always wanted.

Great news - this is actually the best time to make that commitment. Why? Because you can take advantage of the powerful momentum and energy a New Year brings to achieve your weight loss dreams.

But there's nothing worse than committing to lose weight, only to get lost among the 5 gazillion diets out there. It can get confusing - you may end up wasting a lot of money and effort. You may end up wondering which diet is really the BEST diet for you.

You may even end up feeling so frustrated that you give up on your dream of becoming slim and healthy. But it doesn't have to be that way.

In order to have rapid weight loss success, you have to find the best diet for you (a.k.a. the diet that will speed you towards your dream body at lightning pace). There are millions of diets - but only a few that are best for you and your lifestyle.

The best diet for you will have the 3 key features listed below. Choose your diet with these 3 key features in mind and you're already halfway to your weight loss dreams.

#1 Proven Success Rate

Are there before and after pictures of people who have lost weight with that particular diet? Are there customer testimonials? Have there been independent studies done on the diet's success rate?

The diet you choose doesn't have to have all three of these but try to find at least some kind of proven success rate before choosing that particular program.

Finding a diet with a proven success rate not only lets you know that the diet works but it also helps give you the confidence that the diet will work FOR YOU.

Confidence is one of the most underrated factors in a successful weight loss program. If you've tried and failed with diets before you especially need that extra boost of confidence to carry you through the more difficult times in the diet. By reminding yourself that this diet has been proven to work - you'll be able to keep going and reach your weight loss goals.

A related feature that gets extra points is if the diet has been recommended by an expert or a physician. Again this boosts your confidence that the diet is safe and effective.

#2 Affordable.

Losing weight should not cost you thousands of dollars (unless we're talking about surgery here and that's an entirely different article). The best diet will be affordable for the average person.

If the diet costs too much, be very suspicious and look elsewhere. There are too many shady diets out there and as a consumer, it pays to be cautious.

I'll give you an example of what I mean:

A close friend of mine went to a well-known weight loss clinic in our area and was told she had to pay the yearly fees up front (around $1000 NOT including food). They also told her she had to buy their food in bulk (like $500 for a year's worth of chocolate). When the chocolate gave her heart palpitations and she had to take it back, they told her it was non-refundable. She was out the money for the chocolate. Plus, she feels she can't leave the program because she's paid the yearly fees (which, you guessed it, are also non-refundable).

She unfortunately made the mistake of ignoring her instincts and paying way too much money for a diet program. If you notice you're being asked for hefty fees right out of the gate, warning lights should be flashing in your mind.

Now on the other hand, the best diet WILL cost you something. It actually is better if you put some cash on the table for your diet program. Why? Because when we invest in something we're more likely to stick with it. When we invest in something we are more likely to follow through and get the results we want.

For example I did a liver detox several months ago. I'm not really into liver detoxing but I read an article and figured I'd try it.

The detox kit cost me a whopping $50 and when I opened the instructions they told me I had to give up junk food for two weeks. In any other universe I would have laughed and simply forgotten about detoxing my liver. But because I'd shelled out $50, I was invested - I decided that I hopefully wouldn't starve from lack of junk food over two weeks and suffered through it.

If I'd gotten the detox kit for free there's no way I would have followed those instructions. But because I was invested, I followed through and now have a healthier liver thanking me for it.

So when searching for the best diet, putting out some money on yourself and your dreams of a better body is actually a healthy thing. Just keep in mind that you shouldn't have to spend thousands of dollars on it.

#3 Compatible with Your Tastes and Lifestyle

This is THE most crucial step however it's the one where most people go wrong. When choosing a diet, they simply pick one and go, without considering if it is compatible with their tastes and lifestyle.

For example, if you hate the taste of fruit (or it doesn't agree with you), then you may want to skip the fruit flush diet. If you eat out almost every day, you may want to skip the diet that calls for specially prepared home cooked meals. If you love meat, you'll want to bypass the vegetarian diet plan. If you like sweets, choose a plan where you can eat them and still lose weight.

Diets are like cars - there are hundreds of models out there, each with their own unique features. You need to decide on which one YOU like and which one fits your lifestyle.

For example, if you hate feeling deprived or empty you might want to choose a program that lets you eat many times during the day so you don't feel hungry. If you get bored easily you want a diet program that gives you tremendous variety and flexibility. If you don't do a lot of cooking or food preparation, you'll want to look at a program where the food is pre-made for you.

Dieting is hard enough. Don't make it harder on yourself by choosing a diet not compatible with who you are. Setting yourself up for success will also guarantee that you'll stick it out until you reach your goal.

And one other thing, the best diet will be one that you can get excited about. Choose a diet that you enjoy, that you believe in, that may actually be - gulp - fun.

Emotional excitement will fade in time, yes. But it can give you enough of an emotional push to get you over the initial hump. By that time your first few pounds will have come off and will serve as your continuing motivation.

So those are 3 key considerations when looking for the best diet. Keep them in mind and you will progress in leaps and bounds towards your dream body. Remember, planning now may seem boring - but it's the key to your future weight loss success.

Vienna Miller is a contributing writer to Diet and Weight Loss Reviews.

For a review of the Best Diets of the New Year check out the Top 3 Diets at: http://www.freetobethin.com/article_Diet_Review_Top_3_Diets.html

Build Next Year's Success on the Lessons Learned This Year

2005-12-28T07:59:00.000-08:00

As we embark on a brand new year, full of hope and ambition, let us not forget the lessons taught to us by 2005; whether good or bad. The noted poet and philosopher, George Santayana, told us: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This is no less true for entrepreneurs.

The more research and investigation one does into their proposed endeavor, the less they will be caught off guard. This is an important part of becoming a successful entrepreneur. It is for this reason that financial institutions, angel investors and other backers require a well-thought out business plan before considering investing in a new enterprise. Yet, there will still be those little, and sometimes not-so-little, things that one must discover on their entrepreneurial journey. It is these lessons which we must learn well, using them to improve our blueprint for success for the next week, month, or year.

The approach of a new year makes us dig down deep and decide what we want, both professionally, and personally, but in order to achieve the success that we want in the coming year, we must be sure to include the lessons which we have learned from the past year. What did you learn about your industry, your workers, or associates, and yourself this year? How can you put this information to work, in order to achieve your goals?

For instance, did you discover that your services or products are considerably under priced? Does the past payment record of some of your clients require that you draft and execute payment policies and late fees for the upcoming year? Have you discovered that to get the best work out of a certain employee or associate, you must allow more time on the project? Did you discover that you are a notorious procrastinator, or that a lack of organization makes it difficult for you to stay on task? If so, you have discovered important information which can greatly contribute to your increased success in the upcoming year.

How will you use the important business and personal lessons that you have learned over the past year? It is entirely up to you. However, your ability to achieve your goals for 2006 may very well depend upon how well you learned the lessons of 2005.

Best wishes for a successful new year.

Roxanne Ravenel is the President/Owner of SOHO Support Solutions LLC, a full-service Copywriting & Virtual Assistance Firm. Her firm produces business articles and a variety of marketing collateral for small to medium business organizations and independent professionals, through strategic collaboration of a team of experienced copywriters and other professionals in a variety of complementary fields. Visit http://www.SOHOSupportSolutions.com/ to learn more about her firms services.

First Night in My Home Town

2005-12-28T07:58:00.000-08:00

We can't stop time from turning future into past,

But there is a way to make it last.

Instead of using our share to get ahead

We should state our love, get it said.

We might find ourselves behind less

In the catagory of love which is Timeless.

One day in December a few years ago, local radio advertisements for a special celebration on New Year's Eve to me sounded weird and quite unlikely. They wanted us to wander around in the bitter cold outside and listen to amateur bands play and jugglers to juggle? No libations allowed!? Children welcome? Give up partying all night? Sounds like a bummer. But being an enlightened and adventurous sort of person, I entreated my wife and a couple of friends to spend the twelve dollars and see what they were talking about.

When the day arrived, we parked about ten blocks away and walked the rest. The weather proved to be one of those southerly breeze exceptions that kept the temperatures in the sixties instead of in the twenties which would be normal for this time of year in New Jersey. The main streets were decorated in creative Christmas and New Year themes - animated figures skating on blue glass, angels ringing bells of peace and hand made manger scenes filled the spot-lighted windows. Christmas music filled the air and every block featured some sort of street musician including mimes, balloon artists and groups of singers in period costumes.

At the first corner a sign proclaimed the presence of a real German Band inside. After a short wait, we were led into a large room with a stage where twelve musicians in German costumes regaled us with a variety of German oompah music. The renditions of old favorites sounded quite authentic, at least according to my wife who was born in Munich, Germany. A short stroll away, a Barbershop Chorus performed a medley of show tunes. This internationally famous chorus was entirely composed of women whose professional and entertaining performance was worthy of Carnegie Hall.

The children seemed to enjoy all the festivities and music immensely. Rosy cheeks were made up with butterflies and stars. Every child carried a colorful balloon and hundreds of happy families filled the streets. Since I enjoy progressive jazz, a sign announcing the presence of a well-known New York quartet caught my eye. A local car dealer donated his showroom for the occasion. Their spontaneous performance just knocked me out! Luckily, I came prepared with my video camera and recorded their performance for posterity. At five minutes to twelve, thousands of people gathered in the square to see the large steeple clock on the Presbyterian Church strike twelve. Fireworks soared over the town square, etching the scene in an other-worldly glow. Talk about a Kodak Moment! The cheers were deafening, and no-one wanted the night to end too soon.

Five thousand people were expected at this first of First Nights -- twenty thousand showed up! No party at an expensive restaurant at a cost of over a hundred dollars could compete with this formula -- good music enjoyed by good people equals a good time.

A retired portrait photographer not too old to enjoy life. Your experiences and comments welcome.

Three New Years Tennis Resolutions

2005-12-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

This article is about three New Years tennis resolutions. Number one, I will call other players and organize my match play practices. Number two, I will not get negative in matches, practice or tournament play! Number three, I will step inside the court and attack my opponents second serve! Here are a few pointers that will help.

Number one - Several reasons why you do not practice are because you may be embarassed to ask or you may think others are better then you and if you lose they may not play with you again. I am with you, but how about this approach. Make a list of all players you meet at tournaments or your club, get their phone numbers and addresses, call the ones you think you have good chance to beat, use these practices to try new things you have learned. As you go through the list you will get the ones you think might that beat you, with these stay calm and consistent, build up your points patiently, do not go for winners all the time, make them earn their points. At the end of each practice give them your phone number and address. Before you know it, they will be calling you too!

Number two, I will not get negative in matches, practice or tournament play! I will not get negative when I make mistakes or begin losing. This is a challenge for most people, but this year it will be different...yes! This year mistakes and losing are part of learning how to win! The very best in the world make very silly mistakes as you see on TV and lose more often then they win, exception Federer. One good way to go about it is to allow yourself a quota of mistakes per set, say 20 unforced errors, the better you get the less. As you make a mistake learn to immediately turn away from it and go to your returning position or serving position and get mentally ready for the next point. If you have trouble, remember "A lost point is past, the next point is present and requires your full attention, NOW!" At every change of sides write down the mistakes you made, make a clear mental picture on how you would have played it to win the point and leave it at that.

Number three, I'll remember I will step inside the court and attack my opponents second serve! Make a committment to be courageous, depending on the quality of your opponents second serve, step 3 to 6 feet inside the court and take the return early! I give you 3 choices:

- If the serve is really weak put it away!

- If you want to pressure your opponent hit the ball with a little under spin or fairly flat down the line and move in to the net.

- If you have plenty of respect, take the ball early, hit it hard cross court and hold your position inside the court, next, if you get a weak short ball from your opponent, step in put the ball away or go to the net with it!

Well, there you have it three New Years tennis resolutions. The rest is up to you! Wait a second, I must have forgotten something...oh yea!...Happy New Year!

For comments or ideas about this article please email the author Sergio Cruz

Copyright © 2005 Tenniscruz.com®. All rights reserved.

Sérgio Cruz is an ex # 1 National Champion, Davis Cup Player from Portugal and former Coach Jim Courier ATP World Ranking # 1

cruz@tenniscruz.com http://www.tenniscruz.com http://www.forum.tenniscruz.com

Say No to New Years Resoltions-Set Great Goals Instead

2005-12-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

The new year is almost upon us and just like every year some people are excited about what next year has to offer and many more are not sure what life will throw at them and are just willing to let the chips fall where they may.

There is a better way.

The way I start each year is by looking back, looking at where I am today and finally looking at where I want to be tomorrow and then creating a plan to make a better tomorrow happen.

With goal setting most people just look at what they want and then create a plan to get there. My method of life planning is much better as it does not just look at myself as a superman and allow me to collapse as soon as any problem gets in the way of my goal.

To start you must have a notebook and realize that this notebook will be your companion for the next year. Give yourself an hour to get started and know that you will likely be sitting down a few times over the next few days, if New Years Day comes and goes while you are in the midst of this process do not worry. Even though we always look at new years day as the switch that begins a new year remember that you are creating a map and a route that is much more important and long lasting than the flip of a calendar, the end of a day, or a fuzzy idea in the middle of the night whose idea of importance is reflected only by the thoughts and actions of a very few minutes.

To do this life planning correctly you must begin by looking back at the last year. Sit down and ask yourself the following questions.

What did I plan to do this year? Write this list by writing down one at a time with a couple lines between them. Look back and see all of the things that seemed important for a short or long time and write them down in a big list. Did you include health and exercise, spiritual goals, financial and career goals, holiday plans, leisure plans?

What happened to these ideas and plans? Did you complete one or more of these things on the list? With the one that were completed, great. For the ones that you didnt complete, great as well. This exercise will allow you to see from a bit of distance what was important and what was not important apparently.

Now for each of the items in the list that you completed look at the obstacles that you had and how you over came them. You will probably find that for your accomplishments you were in one way or another motivated to really complete and not just wishing to finish. Also go to the things that did not work out. What was the level of priority and what kind of obstacles stopped you? Are these long term plans that cant be finished? Were you just hoping to get these to work? Write out some detail on each of these things on the list and reflect on how you felt about the idea of each of these one year ago today.

Remember that every goal should be a S.M.A.R.T. goal. That is that every goal must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Bound.

Now you have a nice basis for building on what you have now and what will be the highest priority plans for next year. You are going to find a few common threads from the last year. Maybe you procrastinate. Perhaps you are unrealistic with your time and resources. Likely you wanted certain things that were not that important to you at this time in your life. For the things that you did accomplish you are going to see that you needed to complete them either for your job, your ego or for people that rely on you. You may know now how I will have you look at the next year.

Create goals for what is really important and do not just put lofty goals that are not critically important to you. The real reason that most people fail with their new years resolutions is that they are not important enough for them and they are really just goals that sound good at the time. You probably see from your accomplishments over the last year that the things that you did right were not planned on new years eve but instead in March or June or even November, so if you want to succeed then you will need to find those things that would make enough of a difference in your life that you will not let any of the obstacles that get in your way to stop you.

Now for planning for next year!

Look at you list of things that you did not accomplish this year. Are any of them really important? Are there any that you can accomplish right now for a quick win to start the year with? More importantly get the ones that you did not complete and are not important enough and just put a line through them in your list. Many of us hold on to goals that we are not going to ever complete as they may be lofty but are never really that important to us and just take some of our waking time. Some scientists say that almost all of our thoughts today are just thoughts recycled from yesterday, if these thoughts are not going to do us any good then dump them so that you can free up some space in your head for more things that are really important instead. After you have gone through your list look at the following list and see if there are anymore things that fall into what should and will be done.

Spiritual Goals
Health and Fitness Goals
Monetary Goals
Career Goals
Family Goals
Entertainment and Leisure Goals

I find that most people that try to make goals or that come up with systems tend to be very narrow focused. What would be wrong with goals to eat the food from 10 different countries? If you need a little help to really see the big picture I have found a site called www.43things.com this site has list of what people would like to do from all walks of life and many of the ideas are sure to surprise you.

Now that you have a list do not worry about how big it is, I have heard people say no more than three goals should ever be on your list and another that says that you should have 101 goals. Your list is yours and you now have to go to your list and figure out the following.

How long will it take to complete this goal/outcome?
How important is this goal to me to complete?
What will happen if I do not achieve this goal?
What are the roadblocks that I can expect to have crop up because of my weaknesses in the past?
What will I get if I complete this, what is the reward?
Are there any goals that I should achieve first to get this one done?

These are big questions and are the questions that never get asked when we just jump at making a new years resolution. Answer these questions for each of your goals and dont really belabor the questions or you will never get them done.

Lets say now that you have 10 things that you want to complete by the end of January, 30 things that you want to complete by the end of the year and another 10 for the end of next year. Now you have to have some kind of action plan to get it all completed. Most of getting a goal completed is to get your head aligned with what you want to get, to do this make sure that you have a roadmap to completing each of your items and then your mind can really believe these things possible. After you have done this pull out your daytimer or at least some kind of sheet of paper and list down each goal and when a certain part of it is due so that all of those things in life that get in the way wont stop you for these.

Celebrate your accomplishments, share your dreams, and always make this day the day that will make tomorrow even better.

Bill Nadraszky is a fitness enthusiast with a number of websites and opinions. You can read his weblog at http://www.nadraszky.com/fitness or read his news site at diet.calputer.com

Spinning Classes Make Vigorous Exercise Fun

2005-12-28T07:48:00.000-08:00

Whether youre out of shape or very fit, spinning classes can help you keep your New Years resolutions. You ride a stationary bicycle in a group, with a leader who tells you what to do and plays lively music to set the tempo. Many health clubs and gyms offer these classes, and I recommend them to all of my patients. Spinning relatively safe because it is done with a smooth rotary motion that does not involve the muscle damaging road shock of running.

The pedals drive a chain that is attached to a heavy flywheel that spins smoothly as you pedal. The amount of work you do is determined by the resistance on your pedals, not by how fast you spin. You perform a lot of work when you spin slowly against great resistance, and do not do much work when you spin very fast against very little resistance. A brake is attached to the flywheel and you regulate the resistance on the pedals by turning the brake clockwise to increase the resistance, and counter-clockwise to decrease resistance.

Before you start real training, you need to do some background work. Start out by pedaling at a very slow rate with no resistance. Stop when your legs start to feel heavy or hurt. You may be able to go ten minutes on the first day, five on the second, and perhaps not be able to exercise on the third. Persist and eventually every healthy person should be able to work up be able to work up to a full 45-minute class.

Your instructor will have you warm up by spinning without any resistance until you start to break a sweat. Then you will turn up the resistance a little and spin the pedals until your thigh muscles start to burn. Then pedal easily with little or no resistance until you have recovered, usually about a minute or two. You will continue to alternate into the burn and out of the burn until your leg muscles start to stiffen, which is a signal that you are through for the day.

You need to experiment to learn how high you have to turn up the resistance. If you turn it up too high, you will burn out your muscles and not be able to finish the class. If you dont turn it up high enough, you will not achieve a high level of fitness, not feel sore the next day, and not gain the benefits of being in a high level of fitness. If you have worked out correctly, your thigh muscles will be sore on the next day. Then you have to pedal easily with little or no resistance for as many days as it takes for your muscles to feel fresh again. For most people, this will be one or two days. Then when your muscles are fresh again, youre ready for another hard workout.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

Spinning Classes Make Vigorous Exercise Fun

2005-12-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

7 Reasons Why New Year's Resolutions Don't Work

2005-12-28T07:45:00.000-08:00

It is true that 99.99% of people see their New Years Resolutions flop if not on the second day of January or at the latest at the end of January. It is frustrating, and many will vow they will never make them again because they are useless. Allow me to disagree.

Many people fail at their New Years Resolutions because they dont do them right. Here are 7 reasons why yet again, your good-will will be transformed in mere chimera.

1. You dont write them down

It is imperative that you handwrite your wishes. If it is a true wish, it comes from the heart, and so it needs to follow the path: heart, arm, hand, and thumb. The latter has a unique pulse that, when used correctly, transform thoughts into concrete manifestations.

2. You think lack or negative thoughts

Never write: I dont want a headache next year, for the Universe always says yes, regardless of our positive intentions. Headache? There, youve got it! Instead, state your wishes using positive words: I will be healthier than Ive ever been works better. I want to get out of debt. Ouch!

3. You dont write a date

Give the Universe a deadline. It puts your mind into it also, and your positive focus on the matters you wish to happen to you will be more easily granted. So, instead of saying: I want a new car, you say, I want a new car by May of 2006, or whatever year you are thinking about.

4. You are not grateful

Thank God, or Spirit, or the Universe, whomever you feel more attuned to. Do it as though you have received the gift already. You can also incorporate some feeling of already having what you wish. This way, you are sending good vibes out and sure enough they will come back to you.

5. You are not flexible

You keeping nagging the Universe and dont allow time for manifestation. Perhaps there are even better things coming up if you wait a little longer. Suppose you have asked for $250,000.00 by March and this amount never comes to you. If you wait and trust, you will probably receive not $250,000.00 by March but $500,000.00 in May instead. Not bad, huh?

6. You dont wish for perfection

Very important. Suppose you want $300,000.00 to buy a new house. If you dont ask for perfection, your present house may be burned down and you get $300,000.00 to pay for the expenses. This is not a perfect manifestation.

7. You dont expect miracles

Remember the Miracle of the Fishes? There were no fishes in the basket, but Jesus thanked all the same for manifestation. Do the same. When you thank for things yet to be manifested, you are showing your trust that they will come to you. Remember that the Universe always says yes, there is no question about it.

There are also other things you can do to have your wishes come true during the New Year. But, if you do these ones right, you are more likely to have 80% of them manifested before the end of the year of even before your deadline. Go for it.

Happy New Year!

© Maria Moratto 2005 About the author Dr. Maria Moratto holds 5 degrees and is a life and spiritual coach/educator. She promotes seminars and courses in attracting abundance and loving relationships, time management, stress management, diversity, goal setting, career discovery, values clarification, leisure, self-improvement, college life, communication and learning styles, spirituality, natural health and lifestyle. Visit her website at http://www.rx4bliss.com and sign up for a free e-zine that is short, informative, and fun. Visit her fun blogs at: http://www.rx4bliss.blogspot.com and http://www.thedollarbillgame.blogspot.com You may reprint this article in its entirety as long as you add this source box.

Making Resolutions for 2006

2005-12-28T07:41:00.000-08:00

Most of us make resolutions on a New Years Eve, because a new year is a mile marker of a lifetime and we want to be in control of our path while we travel on it. I used to make New Years resolutions every year, and sometimes not being able to carry them out, I ended up feeling discouraged and disappointed in myself.

The problem was, I set too high a goal to achieve and I expected too much of me. When I look back, I see that the younger and the more inexperienced I was, the grander were my goals. After stopping to make resolutions for a few years, I came across a workable way to handle my resolutions.

Most of us understand a New Years resolution to mean firmness of purpose. Now, there is nothing wrong in being firm in our purpose as long as we know we have the capacity to achieve what we set out for. Another thing is to be flexible and to remember not to beat on ourselves as if we have failed in everything totally, should life twist and turn and things do not go our way. After all, one goal unattained or one incomplete resolution is not a major loss in ones entire lifetime.

* For a resolution to succeed, the first step is to intend on an attainable goal. Once you intend on what that goal will be, you must also intend not to blame yourself, should things not work out. Think of your resolution not as an obligation but something you want to do.

* Second step is to define the goal you are shooting for. Write down the resolution and why you want it. Then, find or devise a method or a system of achieving it. Separate it into small steps. Give each step a time period, still being flexible about it.

* Third, keep notes. As well as recording the steps you take and the difficulties you overcome, write down all the awards you receive and the nice things people say about you.

* Fourth, find a group of co-achievers to do it with and people who can support you along the way. Always ask for help if the going gets tough. Try to choose the right people. If those you have chosen turn out not to be of help to you, do not feel obliged to stick it out with them. There is always a way to let people down gently.

* If at any time while you are working at your goal, you feel discouraged, your efforts sag, or you run into a slump, take time off. Give yourself a tiny vacation to visualize or daydream about the result. See your achievement in color clearly as if it has already happened; smell it; taste it; hear it; feel it. Evaluate how much you have achieved up to that point and pat yourself on the back. Then get back to work.

May all your resolutions come to fruition in 2006.

Joy Cagil is an author on a site for Writers (http://www.Writing.Com/) Her education is in foreign languages and linguistics. Psychology, mental health, and visual arts are also in her background and training. Her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/joycag

Get a FIX in 2006

2005-12-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

If you just stayed Alive in 2005, You need to get a FIX in 2006.

I know that you said you were going to Thrive in 2005 but if that did not turn out like you had planned you need a FIX.

OK, What happened?

You set great New Years Resolutions but they lasted a week or two.

You set mental plans and goals to achieve your desires and wishes and they never materialized.

How about when you took out the Christmas club plan at the bank, how long did that last?

What happened to the promotion at work, the stock dividends and the vacation of a lifetime, the new love of your life, a new car or a home? Where are they?

Did you Thrive In 2005?

If not there is hope.

Get a FIX in 2006.

Heres how. The FIX that I am talking about fixing your mental attitude.

What the mind can conceive and you believe is what you will achieve.

Follow along with me here.

Aristotle said that we think in mental images. Think about when you hear the word DOG. What happens in our mind? We see a picture of a DOG not the letters D O G. Seeing the picture is great for thinking but not good for making our dreams and goals become real. We need to take that mental image and bring it into the physical realm by writing it down.

Writing down your Dreams and Goals for 2006 is key and here's why.

Writing down your Dreams and Goals allows the mental concept to physically be seen and acted upon by yourself and others who may assist you.

Writing is the doing (Action) part of thinking. Taking Action is what is going to bring on the accomplishments in your life.

Here is the outline.

Thinking = Imaging,
Imaging = Writing,
Writing = Action,
Action = Accomplishment

Frank Gasiorowski or as his is known on the internet as "Mr. 90 Day Goals", has been teaching since 1973 and his current mission is to provide easy and effective ways for individuals to achieve their true potential through, http://www.90DayGoals.com and http://www.TotalSelfMastery.com coaching programs.

New Year's Eve Decorating Ideas

2005-12-28T07:35:00.000-08:00

Make decorating your home for New Year's Eve party a pleasure instead of a stressful nightmare. Organization and planning helps you keep on top of your New Year's Eve party.

Create a gorgeous party planning notebook with an inexpensive plastic three-ring binder that has a space to insert an inspirational picture. Keep cutouts from magazines of ideas you love about decorating, themes, menus, and recipes. Keep notes about your party afterwards so you remember what worked well and what to do differently next year. Your personal party journal will be an invaluable assistant to help you avoid holiday stress.

New Year's Eve Decorating

Enjoy your home decorating for New Year's Eve. Don't try to do too much. Keep in mind that people love to come to homes decked out in festive array but that it doesn't take a lot of cluttering ornamentation to create a joy filled room. Just a few large decorations can add the desired impact without taking a lot of time to set out. Plus, too many little decorations get lost when you have many people standing around.

Where to decorate for impact:

1. Your front walkway: Greet guests at the entrance with lights surrounding your front door and two large floral arrangements or evergreen trees.

2. Your front door: A large swag of evergreen decorated with nuts, apples, raffia, and ribbon spiced up with cinnamon sticks and cloves makes a different statement than the usual wreath.

3. Your dining table: If you plan a sit-down dinner, avoid tall centerpieces that interfere with guests seeing across the table. White table cloths reflect the light, add a feeling of elegance, and don't interfere with colored china. Bold colors add drama. Have fun with your table decorations.

4. Look up: Because table decorations get in the way, add decorations above archways and doors.

5. Your powder room: Because guests use this room privately, they take the time to look around and notice decorations.

If your TV looks like a black hole in your room when it's off, play an old black and white classic movie with the sound turned off.

Enjoy your New Year's Eve decorating this year. Try some new ideas and keep a party planner for next year. You'll be ready for new holiday decorating ideas!

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

FREE Interior Design Teleseminar: Home Makeover Help! Jeanette Fisher, author of interior design books, has researched the effects of environment on emotions for over 15 years. She teaches Design Psychology and real estate investing. Free Design Psychology ebooks http://designpsych.com

New Year's Writing Resolutions: Steps to Success!

2005-12-28T07:31:00.000-08:00

Dont you just love it when people make resolutions for the new year? How many people that you know give up on a resolution once they break it? Really, whoever said that if you fail [or fall] once that you must quit altogether? Well, the good news for article writers is that the measure of your success is not weighed by one article or even by article writing itself. It is an attitude that you must present, one that you need to have on December 31st as well as on January 1st. Here are some tips toward helping you in the upcoming year:

1. Write Frequently. I wont suggest what write frequently should mean to you, but what it should mean is that you come up with a set output that works for you. Nothing ventured, nothing gained means this: you havent challenged yourself to bigger and better things. Think about this: whatever x number of articles you write during the coming year will be added to the total that you have written so far. If you want free exposure for your site, then article writing is the best way to go.

2. Submit Smartly. A fellow author recently boasted to me that he submitted one of his articles to over thirty different sites. Well, good for him! In reality, he just wasted his time. What am I saying? As it turns out, several of the sites he submitted to are not well ranked by Google, a few others stripped out his links, and a third set are what I and others would consider to be bad neighborhoods. Better to concentrate on a few good sites with your two or three wonderful links in the resource box than to spend extra time submitting the article to less than stellar sites. That bit of wasted time could best be spent on writing another article!

3. Blog With Discipline. I finally got serious about blogging just this past month. In some ways I am glad that I waited, but in other respects I wish I had jumped in sooner. Had I realized what a pithy paragraph or two of daily missives could generate in the way of increased traffic, I would have begun blogging long ago. Lets just say that I am committed to blogging for the upcoming year! How about you?

4. Overhaul Your Site. You do have your own web site, dont you? No, I dont mean the one or two pages that come with your DSL account, rather your well thought out, carefully designed, and frequently updated web site, right? If you have a site and it hasnt had any serious overhaul in several years, time for you to take a closer look at it and give it an update. Yes, refresh the copyright information to include the current year. Listing copyrighted 2001 gives readers the impression that your site hasnt been updated in years. Ouch!

One of my favorite expressions in life is this: Winners never quit; quitters never win. If you fall down, get up and keep on working toward your goals. An entire army of authors are rooting for you and encouraging you on. Should you find yourself missing your goals, simply continue where you left off and you will be the better for it.

Happy new year to you and yoursnow start writing!

Copyright 2006 -- Matthew Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on a variety of topics including: advocacy, automobiles, aviation, business, Christian themes, family, news, product reviews, travel, writing, and more. Please visit Matt's blog for absolutely stunning and humorous writings from the master himself!

Do You Have a New Year's Career Resolution?

2005-12-28T07:29:00.000-08:00

Repeat after me: I will read this article

The new year is a time for new beginnings, focusing on priorities, and making a resolution to take (and maintain) action. Its a perfect time to make a resolution or commitment to find work you love.

BUT, finding a natural vocation that motivates you every day because it uses your trademark talents and satisfies your own core needs requires more than just wanting it.

Everybody wants something. People want a large house with columns, a new partner, a different body and a vacation in Tahiti. They even want a new life at least a new work life. At least thats what the statistics and my observations reflect. If so many people are longing to be in their dream career, then why do too few actually achieve that goal? The answer, my dear reader, lies mainly in the difference between wants and commitments.

Want: n. the state of desiring something that is absent or unavailable.

Wants are our hopes, dreams, ambitions and passions. Wants keep us going, but theyre a dime-a-dozen. This is because theyre so easy to have. Wanting does not require an action. You can lie on your couch watching Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and all the while your wants float in and out of your head as easily as fantasies, which is about what they are.

Commitment: n. the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action.

Commitments, on the other hand, are requirements that you establish for your life. They are solemn promises to achieve a specific outcome. They supply you with the raw energythe motivationyou need to live an extraordinary life.

Compare the two statements:

Nancy: I want to find a career I love
Karen: I will find a career I love

Who do you think has a likelier chance of find a career they love?

The bottom line to all of this is that if you want to achieve a fulfilling career, you must make some commitments to yourself. Theres no way around it.

Where to go from here?

The key to positive career choice lies in:

1. identifying your comprehensive list of wants
2. deciding which wants to commit to

Identifying your complete list of wants involves examining every aspect of you and your situation: your natural abilities, personality, work values, goals, ideal work environment, and family situation. I have found that the most effective way to accomplish the first step is through a methodical combination of (a) introspection, (b) personal assessments and (c) exercises/inquiries posed by a professional career counselor/coach.

Once you have that list, you can start on the second stepdeciding what you want to commit to and what youre willing to work for.

Why dont we get what we want?

Because life simply is not fair. In fact, it can be downright crappy at times. Our odds of stumbling into a wholly wonderful life are only slightly better than hell freezing over. But the odds increase dramatically when you commit to having a wonderful life.

As the Rolling Stones said You Cant Always Get What You Want. Notice that they didnt say You Cant Always Get What You Commit To.

Steve Bohler is the founder and head coach of the Oxford Program. The Oxford Program has helped over 1000 people worldwide change from the wrong career to a "Natural Vocation." Go to The Oxford Program.

Traveling Light into the New Year

2005-12-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

The door flew open. Exasperated Carrie entered, He wont let me help him! She talked about what he needed and could not see. She had to save him from himself. To save myself, I jumped up and grabbed her backpack. Let my bag go, she said. I said, Let his baggage go, its not yours to carry.

Whats in your bag? We all have one. The difference between a bag and baggage is the weight of the load. A bag wont slow you down. Baggage will. We are all taking a trip down lifes path. We all have potential. Yet, many struggle down the path of potential under the heaviness of emotional or circumstantial baggage tightly packed with self-inflicted labels, other peoples opinions, outdated situations, fraudulent relationships, uncertainty, dis-ease, world traumas and personal tragedies. Some are even weighted down with their purpose. As they enter the New Year, will they begin fully loaded or loaded down? We must learn to pack light in order to travel well. Gods Word provides light to our path.

Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. As a people of purpose, we are visioneers living life by divine design, not default. Come on open your bag. Whats in there? A person, place or thing that you have outgrown or that has outgrown you, but you dont want to let go? Come unto me. . . Are you being offered a suitcase of labels that dont fit the person God created you to be? Come unto me. . .Maybe that satchel of opinions you have of yourself is so full of holes your self esteem keeps leaking out . . . Come unto me. . . Maybe like Carrie, lugging other peoples baggage is your specialty except they cant see the need to come to Him because they are coming to you and admit it youre tired. Come . . .

Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. God promises rest. Rest does not come to mind when I think of many purpose driven people - myself included. I think of goals of grandeur and radical resolution lists designed to expand my territory to achieve bigger and better things than ever before ... I can almost hear the crowds roarI also feel tension creeping up the back of my neck from the anxiety created from a list of things to do FOR God. He designed my purpose to spend more time WITH Him. I react by doing more FOR Him. This is a busy yoke, not His easy one.

His bags are not our bags. Jesus demonstrates this by inviting us to come to Him, by giving us rest while we take His yoke. He carries the weight of our weaknesses while teaching us His gentle ways and allowing us to help carry His burdens - not our Purposes but His burdens.

This year, I will try it His way: come, take, learn and receive. . .

1. Come unto me . . .is the Lords intimate invitation in unloading, packing and carrying bags. In His presence and in worship resolutions can be created.

2. Take presumptions out of my bag to go forward. Going through airport security, I was asked okay commanded - to take off my shoes. This reminded me of Moses taking his shoes off before entering Holy ground. To get Gods perspective rather than my own, I need to pray out my presumptions and listen for His intentions, on His ground.

3. Learn Him. Resolutions based on the successes or testimonies of others put weight on. While it looks good on them, it doesnt necessarily fit in my bag. Christ is the standard to study.

4. Receive in His presence, resolutions that will not be a self-improvement list of goals that are all about me. Rather they will reach beyond self, be centered on Him, and benefit others.

My yoke is easy and my burden is light. The only bags I intend to pick up at baggage claim this year are easy and light allowing me to travel into the New Year as a living expression of Gods love. Will you join me?

Sonya Denyse is a steward of Dream Development Foundation, helping individuals & ministries to put dreams into action. The company serves an eclectic array of clients who progress from confusion to clarity as their dreams advance from concept to completion. http://www.DreamDevelopmentFoundation.com.

Leadership Skill: What is Your LQ: Leadership Quotient?

2005-12-28T07:23:00.000-08:00

The unexamined life is not worth living. Plato

As the New Year approaches, Id like to recommend taking a brief moment of pause from your hectic holiday pace to examine your life and reflect on where you are and where youre headed.

Whether leading yourself toward a higher path, leading a family, community, congregation, or an entire organization, this is a good time to reexamine your leadership effectiveness. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, how would you rate yourself as a leader? Leadership effectiveness, what I like to call LQ or Leadership Quotient, is primarily determined by a combination of Physical Intelligence, Mental Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, and Spiritual Intelligence. These four areas (Body, Mind, Heart, and Spirit) are essential toward the making of a whole leader. Lets explore the key leadership factors that bring wholeness:

1. Inspire with Integrity (Spirit or Conscience)
2. Initiative and Innovation (Body and Mind)
3. Impactful Influence (Heart)

An easy way to remember this is LQ = 6I (Inspiration, Integrity, Initiative, Innovation, Impact, and Influence). This exercise will only take about fifteen minutes in which you answer some questions and honestly rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 for each factor.

1. Inspire with Integrity (Spirit or Conscience)

Are you energized with a larger than life vision or transcendent goal that serves the greater good and inspires others, or is your focus limited to only your own immediate needs? Are you aware of your highest purpose?

Great leaders subordinate their ego to their spirit or conscience by putting the needs of others before their own and finding a cause or purpose thats greater than themselves. This gives a leader the moral authority to lead others.

On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself for Inspiration _________

Do your actions reflect your vision, beliefs, and values? Do you do as you say and honor your word? Andrew Carnegie once said, As I grow older, I pay less attention to what [people] say. I just watch what they do.

On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself for Integrity ___________

2. Initiative and Innovation (Body and Mind)

Once you know what your highest purpose and core genius is, how well do you execute on your vision and key priorities? Are you focused on doing the right things, whats important, or are you spending too much time on urgent but not important activities and doing things right?

Leadership is about doing, taking initiative, and getting things done. Do you usually wait for things to happen and wait for others to initiate, or do you make things happen and initiate things on your own?

Additionally, the body is the temple of the spirit. Are you taking care of your body by exercising regularly and eating healthy so you have enough energy to take lots of action, or are you often succumbing to whims of the day?

On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself for Initiative ___________

Are you continually growing and innovating as a leader in the never ending pursuit of excellence, or are you settling for mediocrity by being comfortable with the status quo?

Are you using your creative problem-solving skills and imagination to become a change-agent by experimenting with new ideas, solutions, and technology, or are you continually in fire-fighting mode by being frequently blindsided with change?

On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself for Innovation ___________

3. Impactful Influence (Heart)

Are you reaching out to people and making an emotional impact in their lives? Are you getting to intimately know people in your circle of influence and taking the time to find out their fears, desires, challenges, and goals? Are you touching peoples lives by serving? The old adage, people dont care about what you know, until they know you care, applies here.

The heros journey is about following your bliss and doing what you love doing in service to others. Interestingly, through the heart, by making an emotional impact in peoples lives and serving, the spiritual dimension is tapped. Rabrindranath Tagore once said, "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy." In other words, service is spirit.

On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself for Impact ___________

Finally, influence is a measure of your character that comes with time and experience. How wide and impactful is your influence? Are people seeking you out for your leadership, mentorship, and guidance? What is the quality of people you have attracted in your work and life?

We are in many ways the sum total reflection of the people in our circle of influence. Look around you. What type of people have you attracted in your sphere of influence? The majority of people you attract in your life, whether negative or positive, bright or ignorant, are mostly a reflection of your own character. If youre not happy with the quality of people in your circle of influence, its time to work on yourself.

On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself for Influence ___________

After youve rated yourself for all six factors (Inspiration, Integrity, Initiative, Innovation, Impact, and Influence), add all the scores and divide by six. This indicator will give you a rough idea of your total LQ and where you need to make improvements. Make it a goal in the New Year to raise the bar in every category. But dont wait till the New Year. Start NOW!

Sharif Khan (http://www.herosoul.com; sharif@herosoul.com) is a professional speaker, coach, and author of, Psychology of the Hero Soul, an inspirational book on awakening the hero within and developing peoples leadership potential. To contact Sharif directly, call: (416) 417-1259

10 Online New Year's Resolutions

2005-12-28T07:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! New attitude? New habits? How about 10 Online New Year's Resolutions?

For almost a decade now I have reviewed the issues that need to be addressed and update this article before the first of each year. 2005 brought many changes, unfortunately, when it comes to proper technology use, many still feel online is a free for all. Certainly that is not the case and is simply a misnomer to lend shelter to those who still do not want to make the effort to learn the online rules of the road. So, without further adieu, shall we begin?

As I am sure you can relate, almost every New Year's resolution is based on improving attitudes and changing habits. From loosing weight to getting out of debt to trying to live a happier life, every one of us has or will have some sort of conversation with ourselves in regard to the New Year and changes we would like to make or better yet have the control to make. If we follow through on 5% of these resolutions; we are way ahead of the pack!

Below are the 2006 New Year's Online Resolutions. Everyone can improve on their skills -- if they are willing. Remember, perception is the only reality online! Perceptions are made about you based on how you choose to use technology - positive and negative alike.

For whatever reason, these issues in particular, are those that I notice are neglected by too many on a daily basis. Make a commitment to improve in these areas and you may find your online activities to be more enjoyable as well as more profitable and effective. It won't hurt; rather it will only add to the positive impression you will make with those who communicate with you.

Many who may never have the pleasure of meeting you in person will only have your use of technology to form their opinions about who you are and what you would be like to get to know, do business with or form a relationship with. The perception of the type of person you are, as well as whether you are a fish out of water online, will certainly be apparent by the efforts you choose to make or neglect in these areas.

I will not forward an e-mail unless it specifically applies to the person I am sending to. I will include a personal note to that person so they know why I am forwarding that particular e-mail their way. If I must send or forward the same e-mail to a group of contacts, I will do so only when I put their e-mail addresses in the BCC: field to protect their privacy (especially if they don't know each other).

I will also set a good example by removing any visible e-mail addresses within the body of the forward from previous irresponsible forwarders who did not feel the need to protect their contact's privacy.

I will take the time to make sure that my sentences are complete, capitalized and include proper punctuation. Using proper sentence structure and taking the extra time to ensure that my intent and tone are clear, will do nothing but reflect positively on me. Making these efforts will go a long way to ensuring communicating with me is easy while having the added benefit of helping to avoid any misunderstandings.

I will not send an unannounced large attachment of any kind, even the ones I think are very special photos of [insert here: RFQs, PDF files, sales flyer, Power Point presentation...], until I ask first when would be the best time to send it to the intended party. This way, I do not fill their e-mail box without notice causing all their other e-mail to bounce. The fact is I do not know what the other side's e-mail activity is like to assume my attachment will not cause any unnecessary problems for them. Think of the other side, not just of what you want to do.

If I do not know how to determine an attachment's size, I will learn how before I send it by e-mail! I will also have enough common sense to not send business attachments outside of business hours when someone may not be there to download the attachments and keep their inbox clear.

Every e-mail I send will be courteous and include a proper greeting and closing which includes my name. Typed properly too! Names in small case or all caps reflect either a lack of education or tech savvy; neither of which is a good thing.

My extra effort in this area, when many feel these details are not necessary, will ensure I am viewed as someone who "gets it" and is a pleasure to communicate with. Nice greetings and closings avoid my e-mails coming off as demanding or terse and reflect that I understand common courtesies.

I will not copy or use any text, graphics or content from another Web site or author without their explicit permission to do so. The online world, contrary to popular belief, is not a public domain environment! I will not use another author's writings in whole or in part without them being aware of exactly what I am doing and where I will use their information. I will not post e-mails that were sent to me privately for any reason in a public forum without the original sender's permission. These are all serious copyright and privacy issues that I need to be aware of, practice and respect.

There is no place online for profanities, accusations or rudeness just because I am safely encroached behind my monitor. If I run into problems with another onliner in a chat room, message board or by e-mail who does not communicate with clarity and courtesy, I will simply cease communicating with them. If I need to respond, I will take the high road and not stoop to personal digs and innuendo. I will report ongoing abusive e-mails or threatening behavior to my ISP for proper handling.

I will be very respectful about how I use my employer's technology resources understanding they are paying the bills and I am on their time. I also understand that I should not assume any level of privacy while using company equipment, connectivity or e-mail resources. I will make a point of reviewing my employer's policies so that I am familiar with them so I can avoid any future problems.

I will refrain from formatting my e-mails with colored text, bolding and/or italics because I know it may not look as I intended when received on the other side. I also understand by making the extra effort to add emphasis with formatting, it may be taken the wrong way or even over-emphasized by the recipient. I will learn to relay my thoughts clearly with the written word rather than having to rely on formatting. I understand if I take the time to choose my words carefully and reflect on how I use them, formatting is not necessary.

When I sign up for a Web site service, newsletter or am sending an inquiry, I will take the time to add that site's e-mail address to my address book, white list or approved senders list so that the response can get through any spam blocking software my ISP, online service or that I may have in place to block spam. I understand that if I don't make this effort, the response to my request or subscription may not make it to my inbox and I'll have no one to blame but myself.

I will make a point of understanding each online service or Web site I choose to use by reading their Frequently Asked Questions, Terms of Service and Help area. I understand that I need to eliminate my actions or lack thereof as a possible cause of a perceived problem before pointing fingers at others. I also need to be aware of how each site operates so that I may use their services and resources properly. If in fact something does appear amiss, I will e-mail with courtesy asking for assistance in resolving my difficulties rather than making blunt demands or accusations based on my assumptions alone.

There you have it! Your Ten 2006 New Years Online Resolutions to work on for the year ahead so that folks don't cringe when they see your name in their inbox. Just imagine if every onliner made these efforts? Joy, joy! See you back here next year!

About the Author: Judith Kallos is an authoritative and good-humored Technology Muse who has played @ http://www.TheIStudio.com for over a decade. Check out her popular E-mail Etiquette Web site and Book @: http://www.NetManners.com.

The Best Treadmills

2005-12-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

As the New Year approaches, more and more individuals are considering what kind of resolutions they will make. Frequently, people make resolutions to pursue a healthier lifestyle and attempt to change their eating and exercise habits. Thus, in considering exercise, they begin to think about purchasing exercise equipment; one such piece of equipment includes the treadmill.

If you have never owned a treadmill, you may wonder which are the best ones to consider. Further, in seeing all the different varieties that are available, you might become overwhelmed by all of the different styles. Nevertheless, when purchasing one of the many available, it is important that you find the right one for you. So, just what should you look for?

First, you will want a treadmill that monitors your heart rate. Keeping track of your heart rate is imperative because it must increase in order for you to benefit from your treadmill workout. Some treadmills provide a handgrip pulse monitor, while others do not. Therefore, if you are looking to purchase a treadmill, you will definitely want one with a feature that allows you to monitor your cardiovascular activity.

Alternatively, some treadmills will advise you on how many miles you have covered in your workout. This feature is especially beneficial if you have been advised by your doctor to walk a certain number of miles a day. In monitoring how many miles you walk on the treadmill, you can then keep your workout in check and meet the demands of your planned regime.

Other features that you might enjoy and should look for when purchasing a treadmill are features like auto incline, a quiet motor, a treadmill that provides impact absorption, and if you live in a small apartment, a treadmill that provides easy storage. Preferably, in terms of storage, you may want to purchase a treadmill that can fold up easily and be stored in a closet or underneath a bed. Finally, sturdiness is equally important - you will want to search among the best treadmills to find one that promises longevity, one that will be worth your well spent money.

Of course, cost will be a significant consideration when purchasing a treadmill, but it is important that you don't let your budget necessarily confine your purchase. Remember, inexpensive products may cost you more in the long run because they lack the durability that more expensive brands possess. So, if you want your money to go a long way, it is imperative that you purchase a treadmill that provides you with durability and all of the features you desire. In the end, you will be spending quite a bit of time on the treadmill working out, and you want the experience to be as comfortable and as enjoyable as possible - you wouldn't want to spend a lot of money on a treadmill only to decide that you don't like it and will not use it.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Treadmills
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Success Training Secrets- The Real Success Power in a New Year's Resolution

2005-12-28T07:09:00.000-08:00

"The Real Secret of a Successful New Year's Resolution lies within the word itself."

Doug's mentor

Have you ever made New Year's resolutions and they did not make it past January? (Don't Lie!) Ever tell someone that you were going to make this the year that you changed your life, and then come January 20th, you have fallen back into the same life pattern that you have been struggling with and it steal your Success?

Ever made a Success resolution to work out every week?

You decided that you were going to get up and work out, and finally get that body you have always wanted? You were telling everyone that this was the year, and this was the time that they were going to see a new you and you were going to create Success doing it!

Uh huh. I have been there. And I ended up looking quite foolish, until I decided just to start it, and not worry about talking about it. Then you will start to see some changes in your physique!

How about to lose weight?

Ever talk to folks and tell them that you were going to lose the weight you want this year, and you were going to become a lean, mean, weight losing machine? And then after 30 days, you were back eating twinkies?

Yep. Got that one.

Here's one -- to quit smoking! I know so many folks that have promised themselves that they were going to quit smoking! This is the year! I will be smoke free!

Good idea!

Most of the New year's resolutions are made with the best intentions, but most fail miserably. They really never get out of the starting blocks to obtain Success. All the words were nice, but there was no real sustained effort in the change process for Success.

Why?

Simple.

Lack of proper focus in the word itself.

Actually, the word resolution has a very different meaning if you look at the word itself.

To me, it carries a little different meaning, if you use a little different perspective and view of the word. Many times, changing how you view something is the shift that you need to create Success with something.

I like the word Re-Solution.

In other words, if you make a resolution to change something, you are actually "re-solutioning" it with a different solution. Most people dont do that. They are trying to use the same old solution to a problem that did not work before.

"Re" means to repeat. So you are repeating the attempt, to create a new success solution, to solve an old problem .

Simple.

But doesn't work. If it did, you would not have to be attempting the same new years resolution as last year, and the year before.

Here's an idea:

Dont make a resolution, but a REAL Solution!

And if you make a REAL Solution, that will cause a DISSOLUTION to your problem.

(Dissolves that challenge!)

Ok. How? Simple.

1) What is it you want to change? Write it down.

2) How bad to you want to change it? (Deciding factor!)

3) How will that improve your life? (List them..)

4) What is the very first thing you need to do to start the change process? Do it.

5) What's the second? Do it.

6) What' s the third? Do it.

7) What's after that? Continue to do it till done..

Now, you are making a REAL solution to your life, not some wimpy, whiny, weak, wasted, willowy, wishy- washy, won't work, waste of time, woe is me, featherweight promise you know you won't keep!

If you look at the word "resolution" for what it really is, and change your mindset to a "REAL solution".

You can change your whole life in a day, as well as the Achievement and Success in your life in 2006.

blessings..doug firebaugh

Doug Firebaugh is one of the top Success Trainers in the world. Over a million people a month read his training ezine. He spent the last 7 years traveling the world speaking and training on Success. He lives in Birmingham Michigan, and you can receive a FREE subscription to his training ezine- The MLM Success HEAT- at: http://www.passionfire.com/pf_heat_9.html and http://www.passionfire.com

The New World Currency

2005-12-20T08:53:00.000-08:00

The New World Currency

Do you ever consider the possibility that the money you work so hard for could be gone from your pocketbook in the next few years?

Quicker then you might think, currency as we know it, is changing. Necessity for efficiency is transforming the flow of cash into a digital form.

The use of e-currency is quickly spreading throughout the world. Everyday, more and more people are making purchases online. These purchases are being facilitated by companies like Paypal, E-Bullion, E-Gold and Net Pay. The digital age is definitely upon us, and with the new forms of commerce, comes new forms of opportunity.

With the advent of these E-currency companies, trade between different countries is suddenly becoming easier and more profitable. New products and services are quickly filling the need for the flow of money. The one constant still remaining is the ever present, currency exchange rates. To avoid these fluctuations and exchange fees, companies have facilitated their transactions with the global currency of gold.

Some online e-currency companies now tout that their holdings are 100% backed by gold. This no longer is true for any of the national currencies now in existence. The United States for example, has not had 100% of their currency backed by gold, since the end of the gold standard in 1914. The value of the U.S dollar continues to decline, as the value of gold rises steadily.

Due to national inflation, the cash you hold in your hand will continue to lose value. Unfortunately, there is not nearly enough gold to cover all of the paper money holdings. That money you hold in your hand is basically a loan from the government. The tenet of many governments, when they fall on hard times, is to print more money. This fact has led to the desire for more worldwide corporations to embrace the idea of a worldwide currency.

To accommodate the demand to trade goods and services between Countries, many companies have been created. The increased need for exchanging has created lucrative opportunities within the e-currency exchanging markets. A global currency exchange is evolving that knows no boundaries or national borders.

While gold remains the standard for many worldwide transactions, there still exists a need to transfer funds from, existing national currency, into gold and vice versa. There also exists the need for different e-currencies to be exchanged among themselves. This need has created a void that has enabled average people to cash in on.

Trading e-currency has filled the demand for these transactions to be completed efficiently, while enabling certain people in the know, a lucrative business opportunity. Those people who understand the system can leverage their funds to facilitate the transactions while pocketing a sizable commission.

The future is unknown for paper money as we know it. However, one thing is certain, those who are the market-makers of the new system that evolves will be the biggest winners of the new millennium.

Yours for success

Matthew Sherborne

The History of Previous Currency Unions

2005-12-20T08:46:00.000-08:00

I. The History of Monetary Unions

"Before long, all Europe, save England, will have one money". This was written by William Bagehot, the Editor of "The Economist", the renowned British magazine, 120 years ago when Britain, even then, was heatedly debating whether to adopt a single European Currency or not.

A century later, the euro is finally here (though without British participation). Having braved numerous doomsayers and Cassandras, the currency - though much depreciated against the dollar and reviled in certain quarters (especially in Britain) - is now in use in both the eurozone and in eastern and southeastern Europe (the Balkan). In most countries in transition, it has already replaced its much sought-after predecessor, the Deutschmark. The euro still feels like a novelty - but it is not. It was preceded by quite a few monetary unions in both Europe and outside it.

What lessons does history teach us? What pitfalls should we avoid and what features should we embrace?

People felt the need to create a uniform medium of exchange as early as in Ancient Greece and Medieval Europe. Those proto-unions did not have a central monetary authority or monetary policy, yet they functioned surprisingly well in the uncomplicated economies of the time.

The first truly modern example would be the monetary union of Colonial New England.

The four kinds of paper money printed by the New England colonies (Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire and Rhode Island) were legal tender in all four until 1750. The governments of the colonies even accepted them for tax payments. Massachusetts - by far the dominant economy of the quartet - sustained this arrangement for almost a century. The other colonies became so envious that they began to print additional notes outside the union. Massachusetts - facing a threat of devaluation and inflation - redeemed for silver its share of the paper money in 1751. It then retired from the union, instituted its own, silver-standard (mono-metallic), currency and never looked back.

A far more important attempt was the Latin Monetary Union (LMU). It was dreamt up by the French, obsessed, as usual, by their declining geopolitical fortunes and monetary prowess. Belgium already adopted the French franc when it became independent in 1830. The LMU was a natural extension of this franc zone and, as the two teamed up with Switzerland in 1848, they encouraged others to join them. Italy followed suit in 1861. When Greece and Bulgaria acceded in 1867, the members established a currency union based on a bimetallic (silver and gold) standard.

The LMU was considered sufficiently serious to be able to flirt with Austria and Spain when its Foundation Treaty was officially signed in 1865 in Paris. This despite the fact that its French-inspired rules seemed often to sacrifice the economic to the politically expedient, or to the grandiose.

The LMU was an official subset of an unofficial "franc area" (monetary union based on the French franc). This is similar to the use of the US dollar or the euro in many countries today. At its peak, eighteen countries adopted the Gold franc as their legal tender (or peg). Four of them (the founding members of the LMU: France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland) agreed on a gold to silver conversion rate and minted gold and silver coins which were legal tender in all of them. They voluntarily limited their money supply by adopting a rule which forbade them to print more than 6 franc coins per capita.

Europe (especially Germany and the United Kingdom) was gradually switching at the time to the gold standard. But the members of the Latin Monetary Union paid no attention to its emergence. They printed ever increasing quantities of gold and silver coins, which constituted legal tender across the Union. Smaller denomination (token) silver coins, minted in limited quantity, were legal tender only in the issuing country (because they had a lower silver content than the Union coins).

The LMU had no single currency (akin to the euro). The national currencies of its member countries were at parity with each other. The cost of conversion was limited to an exchange commission of 1.25%.

Government offices and municipalities were obliged to accept up to 100 Francs of non-convertible and low intrinsic value tokens per transaction. People lined to convert low metal content silver coins (100 Francs per transaction each time) to buy higher metal content ones.

With the exception of the above-mentioned per capita coinage restriction, the LMU had no uniform money supply policies or management. The amount of money in circulation was determined by the markets. The central banks of the member countries pledged to freely convert gold and silver to coins and, thus, were forced to maintain a fixed exchange rate between the two metals (15 to 1) ignoring fluctuating market prices.

Even at its apex, the LMU was unable to move the world prices of these metals. When silver became overvalued, it was exported (at times smuggled) within the Union, in violation of its rules. The Union had to suspend silver convertibility and thus accept a humiliating de facto gold standard. Silver coins and tokens remained legal tender, though. The unprecedented financing needs of the Union members - a result of the First World War - delivered the coup de grace. The LMU was officially dismantled in 1926 - but expired long before that.

The LMU had a common currency but this did not guarantee its survival. It lacked a common monetary policy monitored and enforced by a common Central Bank - and these deficiencies proved fatal.

In 1867, twenty countries debated the introduction of a global currency in the International Monetary Conference. They decided to adopt the gold standard (already used by Britain and the USA) following a period of transition. They came up with an ingenious scheme. They selected three "hard" currencies, with equal gold content so as to render them interchangeable, as their legal tender. Regrettably for students of the dismal science, the plan came to naught.

Another failed experiment was the Scandinavian Monetary Union (SMU), formed by Sweden (1873), Denmark (1873) and Norway (1875). It was a by-now familiar scheme. All three recognized each others' gold coinage as well as token coins as legal tender. The daring innovation was to accept the members' banknotes (1900) as well.

As Scandinavian schemes go, this one worked too perfectly. No one wanted to convert one currency to another. Between 1905 and 1924, no exchange rates among the three currencies were available. When Norway became independent, the irate Swedes dismantled the moribund Union in an act of monetary tit-for-tat.

The SMU had an unofficial central bank with pooled reserves. It extended credit lines to each of the three member countries. As long as gold supply was limited, the Scandinavian Kronor held its ground. Then governments started to finance their deficits by dumping gold during World War I (and thus erode their debts by fostering inflation through a string of inane devaluations). In an unparalleled act of arbitrage, central banks then turned around and used the depreciated currencies to scoop up gold at official (cheap) rates.

When Sweden refused to continue to sell its gold at the officially fixed price - the other members declared effective economic war. They forced Sweden to purchase enormous quantities of their token coins. The proceeds were used to buy the much stronger Swedish currency at an ever cheaper price (as the price of gold collapsed). Sweden found itself subsidizing an arbitrage against its own economy. It inevitably reacted by ending the import of other members' tokens. The Union thus ended. The price of gold was no longer fixed and token coins were no more convertible.

The East African Currency Area is a fairly recent debacle. An equivalent experiment, involving the CFA franc, is still going on in the Francophile part of Africa.

The parts of East Africa ruled by the British (Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika and, in 1936, Zanzibar) adopted in 1922 a single common currency, the East African shilling. The newly independent countries of East Africa remained part of the Sterling Area (i.e., the local currencies were fully and freely convertible into British Pounds). Misplaced imperial pride coupled with outmoded strategic thinking led the British to infuse these emerging economies with inordinate amounts of money. Despite all this, the resulting monetary union was surprisingly resilient. It easily absorbed the new currencies of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in 1966, making them legal tender in all three and convertible to Pounds.

Ironically, it was the Pound which gave way. Its relentless depreciation in the late 60s and early 70s, led to the disintegration of the Sterling Area in 1972. The strict monetary discipline which characterized the union - evaporated. The currencies diverged - a result of a divergence of inflation targets and interest rates. The East African Currency Area was formally ended in 1977.

Not all monetary unions ended so tragically. Arguably, the most famous of the successful ones is the Zollverein (German Customs Union).

The nascent German Federation was composed, at the beginning of the 19th century, of 39 independent political units. They all busily minted coins (gold, silver) and had their own - distinct - standard weights and measures. The decisions of the much lauded Congress of Vienna (1815) did wonders for labour mobility in Europe but not so for trade. The baffling number of (mostly non-convertible) different currencies did not help.

The German principalities formed a customs union as early as 1818. The three regional groupings (the Northern, Central and Southern) were united in 1833. In 1828, Prussia harmonized its customs tariffs with the other members of the Federation, making it possible to pay duties in gold or silver. Some members hesitantly experimented with new fixed exchange rate convertible currencies. But, in practice, the union already had a single currency: the Vereinsmunze.

The Zollverein (Customs Union) was established in 1834 to facilitate trade by reducing its costs. This was done by compelling most of the members to choose between two monetary standards (the Thaler and the Gulden) in 1838. Much as the Bundesbank was to Europe in the second half of the twentieth century, the Prussian central bank became the effective Central Bank of the Federation from 1847 on. Prussia was by far the dominant member of the union, as it comprised 70% of the population and land mass of the future Germany.

The North German Thaler was fixed at 1.75 to the South German Gulden and, in 1856 (when Austria became informally associated with the Union), at 1.5 Austrian Florins. This last collaboration was to be a short lived affair, Prussia and Austria having declared war on each other in 1866.

Bismarck (Prussia) united Germany (Bavarian objections notwithstanding) in 1871. He founded the Reichsbank in 1875 and charged it with issuing the crisp new Reichsmark. Bismarck forced the Germans to accept the new currency as the only legal tender throughout the first German Reich. Germany's new single currency was in effect a monetary union. It survived two World Wars, a devastating bout of inflation in 1923, and a monetary meltdown after the Second World War. The stolid and trustworthy Bundesbank succeeded the Reichsmark and the Union was finally vanquished only by the bureaucracy in Brussels and its euro.

This is the only case in history of a successful monetary union not preceded by a political one. But it is hardly representative. Prussia was the regional bully and never shied away from enforcing strict compliance on the other members of the Federation. It understood the paramount importance of a stable currency and sought to preserve it by introducing various consistent metallic standards. Politically motivated inflation and devaluation were ruled out, for the first time. Modern monetary management was born.

Another, perhaps equally successful, and still on-going union - is the CFA franc Zone.

The CFA (stands for French African Community in French) franc has been in use in the French colonies of West and Central Africa (and, curiously, in one formerly Spanish colony) since 1945. It is pegged to the French franc. The French Treasury explicitly guarantees its conversion to the French franc (65% of the reserves of the member states are kept in the safes of the French Central Bank). France often openly imposes monetary discipline (that it sometimes lacks at home!) directly and through its generous financial assistance. Foreign reserves must always equal 20% of short term deposits in commercial banks. All this made the CFA an attractive option in the colonies even after they attained independence.

The CFA franc zone is remarkably diverse ethnically, lingually, culturally, politically, and economically. The currency survived devaluations (as large as 100% vis a vis the French Franc), changes of regimes (from colonial to independent), the existence of two groups of members, each with its own central bank (the West African Economic and Monetary Union and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community), controls of trade and capital flows - not to mention a host of natural and man made catastrophes.

The euro has indirectly affected the CFA as well. "The Economist" reported recently a shortage of small denomination CFA franc notes. "Recently the printer (of CFA francs) has been too busy producing euros for the market back home" - complained the West African central bank in Dakar. But this is the minor problem. The CFA franc is at risk due to internal imbalances among the economies of the zone. Their growth rates differ markedly. There are mounting pressures by some members to devalue the common currency. Others sternly resist it.

"The Economist" reports that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) - eight CFA countries plus Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, the Gambia, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, and Liberia - is considering its own monetary union. Many of the prospective members of this union fancy the CFA franc even less than the EU fancies their capricious and graft-ridden economies. But an ECOWAS monetary union could constitute a serious - and more economically coherent - alternative to the CFA franc zone.

A neglected monetary union is the one between Belgium and Luxembourg. Both maintain their idiosyncratic currencies - but these are at parity and serve as legal tender in both countries since 1921. The monetary policy of both countries is dictated by the Belgian Central Bank and exchange regulations are overseen by a joint agency. The two were close to dismantling the union at least twice (in 1982 and 1993) - but relented.

II. The Lessons

Europe has had more than its share of botched and of successful currency unions. The Snake, the EMS, the ERM, on the one hand - and the British Pound, the Deutschmark, and the ECU, on the other.

The currency unions which made it have all survived because they relied on a single monetary authority for managing the currency.

Counter-intuitively, single currencies are often associated with complex political entities which occupy vast swathes of land and incorporate previously distinct -and often politically, socially, and economically disparate - units. The USA is a monetary union, as was the late USSR.

All single currencies encountered opposition on both ideological and pragmatic grounds when they were first introduced.

The American constitution, for instance, did not provide for a central bank. Many of the Founding Fathers (e.g., Madison and Jefferson) refused to countenance one. It took the nascent USA two decades to come up with a semblance of a central monetary institution in 1791. It was modeled after the successful Bank of England. When Madison became President, he purposefully let its concession expire in 1811. In the forthcoming half century, it revived (for instance, in 1816) and expired a few times.

The United States became a monetary union only following its traumatic Civil War. Similarly, Europe's monetary union is a belated outcome of two European civil wars (the two World Wars). America instituted bank regulation and supervision only in 1863 and, for the first time, banks were classified as either national or state-level.

This classification was necessary because by the end of the Civil War, notes - legal and illegal tender - were being issued by no less than 1562 private banks - up from only 25 in 1800. A similar process occurred in the principalities which were later to constitute Germany. In the decade between 1847 and 1857, twenty five private banks were established there for the express purpose of printing banknotes to circulate as legal tender. Seventy (!) different types of currency (mostly foreign) were being used in the Rhineland alone in 1816.

The Federal Reserve System was founded only following a tidal wave of banking crises in 1908. Not until 1960 did it gain a full monopoly of nation-wide money printing. The monetary union in the USA - the US dollar as a single legal tender printed exclusively by a central monetary authority - is, therefore, a fairly recent thing, not much older than the euro.

It is common to confuse the logistics of a monetary union with its underpinnings. European bigwigs gloated over the smooth introduction of the physical notes and coins of their new currency. But having a single currency with free and guaranteed convertibility is only the manifestation of a monetary union - not one of its economic pillars.

History teaches us that for a monetary union to succeed, the exchange rate of the single currency must be realistic (for instance, reflect the purchasing power parity) and, thus, not susceptible to speculative attacks. Additionally, the members of the union must adhere to one monetary policy.

Surprisingly, history demonstrates that a monetary union is not necessarily predicated on the existence of a single currency. A monetary union could incorporate "several currencies, fully and permanently convertible into one another at irrevocably fixed exchange rates". This would be like having a single currency with various denominations, each printed by another member of the Union.

What really matters are the economic inter-relationships and power plays among union members and between the union and other currency zones and currencies (as expressed through the exchange rate).

Usually the single currency of the Union is convertible at given (though floating) exchange rates subject to a uniform exchange rate policy. This applies to all the territory of the single currency. It is intended to prevent arbitrage (buying the single currency in one place and selling it in another). Rampant arbitrage - ask anyone in Asia - often leads to the need to impose exchange controls, thus eliminating convertibility and inducing panic.

Monetary unions in the past failed because they allowed variable exchange rates, (often depending on where - in which part of the monetary union - the conversion took place).

A uniform exchange rate policy is only one of the concessions members of a monetary union must make. Joining always means giving up independent monetary policy and, with it, a sizeable slice of national sovereignty. Members relegate the regulation of their money supply, inflation, interest rates, and foreign exchange rates to a central monetary authority (e.g., the European Central Bank in the eurozone).

The need for central monetary management arises because, in economic theory, a currency is never just a currency. It is thought of as a transmission mechanism of economic signals (information) and expectations (often through monetary policy and its outcomes).

It is often argued that a single fiscal policy is not only unnecessary, but potentially harmful. A monetary union means the surrender of sovereign monetary policy instruments. It may be advisable to let the members of the union apply fiscal policy instruments autonomously in order to counter the business cycle, or cope with asymmetric shocks, goes the argument. As long as there is no implicit or explicit guarantee of the whole union for the indebtedness of its members - profligate individual states are likely to be punished by the market, discriminately.

But, in a monetary union with mutual guarantees among the members (even if it is only implicit as is the case in the eurozone), fiscal profligacy, even of one or two large players, may force the central monetary authority to raise interest rates in order to pre-empt inflationary pressures.

Interest rates have to be raised because the effects of one member's fiscal decisions are communicated to other members through the common currency. The currency is the medium of exchange of information regarding the present and future health of the economies involved. Hence the notorious "EU Stability Pact", recently so flagrantly abandoned in the face of German budget deficits.

Monetary unions which did not follow the path of fiscal rectitude are no longer with us.

In an article I published in 1997 ("The History of Previous European Currency Unions"), I identified five paramount lessons from the short and brutish life of previous - now invariably defunct - monetary unions:

To prevail, a monetary union must be founded by one or two economically dominant countries ("economic locomotives"). Such driving forces must be geopolitically important, maintain political solidarity with other members, be willing to exercise their clout, and be economically involved in (or even dependent on) the economies of the other members.
Central institutions must be set up to monitor and enforce monetary, fiscal, and other economic policies, to coordinate activities of the member states, to implement political and technical decisions, to control the money aggregates and seigniorage (i.e., rents accruing due to money printing), to determine the legal tender and the rules governing the issuance of money.
It is better if a monetary union is preceded by a political one (consider the examples of the USA, the USSR, the UK, and Germany).
Wage and price flexibility are sine qua non. Their absence is a threat to the continued existence of any union. Unilateral transfers from rich areas to poor are a partial and short-lived remedy. Transfers also call for a clear and consistent fiscal policy regarding taxation and expenditures. Problems like unemployment and collapses in demand often plague rigid monetary unions. The works of Mundell and McKinnon (optimal currency areas) prove it decisively (and separately).
Clear convergence criteria and monetary convergence targets.
The current European Monetary Union is far from heeding the lessons of its ill fated predecessors. Europe's labour and capital markets, though recently marginally liberalized, are still more rigid than 150 years ago. The euro was not preceded by an "ever closer (political or constitutional) union". It relies too heavily on fiscal redistribution without the benefit of either a coherent monetary or a consistent fiscal area-wide policy. The euro is not built to cope either with asymmetrical economic shocks (affecting only some members, but not others), or with the vicissitudes of the business cycle.

This does not bode well. This union might well become yet another footnote in the annals of economic history.

Sam Vaknin

Your Guide To Successful Forex Trading

2005-12-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

If you were wondering; forex trading is nothing more than direct access trading of different types of foreign currencies. In the past, foreign exchange trading was mostly limited to large banks and institutional traders however; recent technological advancements have made it so that small traders can also take advantage of the many benefits of forex trading just by using the various online trading platforms to trade.

The currencies of the world are on a floating exchange rate, and they are always traded in pairs Euro/Dollar, Dollar/Yen, etc. About 85 percent of all daily transactions involve trading of the major currencies.

Four major currency pairs are usually used for investment purposes. They are: Euro against US dollar, US dollar against Japanese yen, British pound against US dollar, and US dollar against Swiss franc. Right now I will show you how they look in the trading market: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, and USD/CHF. As a note you should know that no dividends are paid on currencies.

If you think one currency will appreciate against another, you may exchange that second currency for the first one and be able to stay in it. In case everything goes as you plan it, eventually you may be able to make the opposite deal in that you may exchange this first currency back for that other and then collect profits from it.

Transactions on the FOREX market are performed by dealers at major banks or FOREX brokerage companies. FOREX is a necessary part of the world wide market, so when you are sleeping in the comfort of your bed, the dealers in Europe are trading currencies with their Japanese counterparts.

Therefore, it is reasonable for you to believe that the FOREX market is active 24 hours a day and dealers at major institutions are working 24/7 in three different shifts. Clients may place take-profit and stop-loss orders with brokers for overnight execution.

Price movements on the FOREX market are very smooth and without the gaps that you face almost every morning on the stock market. The daily turnover on the FOREX market is somewhere around $1.2 trillion, so a new investor can enter and exit positions without any problems.

The fact is that the FOREX market never stops, even on September 11, 2001 you could still get your hands on two-side quotes on currencies. The currency market is the largest and oldest financial market in the world. It is also called the foreign exchange market, FX market for short. It is the biggest and most liquid market in the world, and it is traded mostly through the 24 hour-a-day inter-bank currency market.

When you compare them, you will see that the currency futures market is only one per cent as big. Unlike the futures and stock markets, trading currencies is not centered on an exchange. Trading moves from major banking centers of the U.S. to Australia and New Zealand, to the Far East, to Europe and finally back to the U.S. it is truly a full circle trading game.

In the past, the forex inter-bank market was not available to small speculators because of the large minimum transaction sizes and strict financial requirements.

Banks, major currency dealers and sometimes even very large speculator were the principal dealers. Only they were able to take advantage of the currency market's fantastic liquidity and strong trending nature of many of the world's primary currency exchange rates.

Today, foreign exchange market brokers are able to break down the larger sized inter-bank units, and offer small traders like you and me the opportunity to buy or sell any number of these smaller units. These brokers give any size trader, including individual speculators or smaller companies, the option to trade at the same rates and price movements as the big players who once dominated the market.

Trading Psychology: Mistakes in a Trading Environment.

2005-12-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

When it comes to trading, one of the most neglected subjects are those dealing with trading psychology. Most traders spend days, months and even years trying to find the right system. But having a system is just part of the game. Don’t get us wrong, it is very important to have a system that perfectly suits the trader, but it is as important as having a money management plan, or to understand all psychology barriers that may affect the trader decisions and other issues. In order to succeed in this business, there must be equilibrium between all important aspects of trading.

In the trading environment, when you lose a trade, what is the first idea that pops up in your mind? It would probably be, “There must be something wrong with my system”, or “I knew it, I shouldn’t have taken this trade” (even when your system signaled it). But sometimes we need to dig a little deeper in order to see the nature of our mistake, and then work on it accordingly.

When it comes to trading the Forex market as well as other markets, only 5% of traders achieve the ultimate goal: to be consistent in profits. What is interesting though is that there is just a tiny difference between this 5% of traders and the rest of them. The top 5% grow from mistakes; mistakes are a learning experience, they learn an invaluable lesson on every single mistake made. Deep in their minds, a mistake is one more chance to try it harder and do it better the next time, because they know they might not get a chance the next time. And at the end, this tiny difference becomes THE big difference.

Mistakes in the trading environment

Most of us relate a trading mistake to the outcome (in terms of money) of any given trade. The truth is, a mistake has nothing to do with it, mistakes are made when certain guidelines are not followed. When the rules you trade by are violated. Take for instance the following scenarios:

First scenario: The system signals a trade.
1. Signal taken and trade turns out to be a profitable trade.
Outcome of the trade: Positive, made money.
Experience gained: Its good to follow the system, if I do this consistently the odds will turn in my favor. Confidence is gained in both the trader and the system.
Mistake made: None.

2. Signal taken and trade turns out to be a loosing trade.
Outcome of the trade: Negative, lost money.
Experience gained: It is impossible to win every single trade, a loosing trade is just part of the business; our raw material, we know we can’t get them all right. Even with this lost trade, the trader is proud about himself for following the system. Confidence in the trader is gained.
Mistake made: None.

3. Signal not taken and trade turns out to be a profitable trade.
Outcome of the trade: Neutral.
Experience gained: Frustration, the trader always seems to get in trades that turned out to be loosing trades and let the profitable trades go away. Confidence is lost in the trader self.
Mistake made: Not taking a trade when the system signaled it.

4. Signal not taken and trade turns out to be a loosing trade.
Outcome of the trade: Neutral.
Experience gained: The trader will start to think “hey, I’m better than my system”. Even if the trader doesn't think on it consciously, the trader will rationalize on every signal given by the system because deep in his or her mind, his or her “feeling” is more intelligent than the system itself. From this point on, the trader will try to outguess the system. This mistake has catastrophic effects on our confidence to the system. The confidence on the trader turns into overconfidence.
Mistake made: Not taking a trade when system signaled it

Second Scenario: System does not signal a trade.
1. No trade is taken
Outcome of the trade: Neutral
Experience gained: Good discipline, we only need to take trades when the odds are in our favor, just when the system signals it. Confidence gained in both the trader self and the system.
Mistake made: None

2. A trade is taken, turns out to be a profitable trade.
Outcome of the trade: Positive, made money.
Experience gained: This mistake has the most catastrophic effects in the trader self, the system and most importantly in the trader’s trading career. You will start to think you need no system, you know better from them all. From this point on, you will start to trade based on what you think. Confidence in the system is totally lost. Confidence in the trader self turns into overconfidence.
Mistake made: Take a trade when there was no signal from the system.

3. A trade is taken, turned out to be a loosing trade.
Outcome of the trade: negative, lost money.
Experience gained: The trader will rethink his strategy. The next time, the trader will think it twice before getting in a trade when the system does not signal it. The trader will go “Ok, it is better to get in the market when my system signals it, only those trade have a higher probability of success”. Confidence is gained in the system.
Mistake made: Take a trade when there was no signal from the system

As you can see, there is absolutely no correlation between the outcome of the trade and a mistake. The most catastrophic mistake even has a positive trade outcome, made money, but this could be the beginning of the end of the trader’s career. As we have already stated, mistakes must only be related to the violation of rules a trader trades by.

All these mistakes were directly related to the signals given by a system, but the same is applied when getting out of a trade. There are also mistakes related to following a trading plan. For example, risking more money on a given trade than the amount the trader should have risked and many more.

Most mistakes can be avoided by first having a trading plan. A trading plan includes the system: the criteria we use to get in and out the market, the money management plan: how much we will risk on any given trade, and many other points. Secondly, and most important, we need to have the discipline to follow strictly our plan. We created our plan when no trade was placed on, thus no psychology barriers were up front. So, the only thing we are certain about is that if we follow our plan, the decision taken is on our best interests, and in the long run, these decisions will help us have better results. We don’t have to worry about isolated events, or trades that could had give us better results at first, but then they could have catastrophic results in our trading career.

How to deal with mistakes

There are many possible ways to properly manage mistakes. We will suggest the one that works better for us.

Step one: Belief change.
Every mistake is a learning experience. They all have something valuable to offer. Try to counteract the natural tendency of feeling frustrated and approach mistakes in a positive manner. Instead of yelling to everyone around and feeling disappointed, say to yourself “ok, I did something wrong, what happened? What is it?

Step two: Identify the mistake made.
Define the mistake, find out what caused the mistake, and try as hard as you can to effectively see the nature of that mistake. Finding the mistake nature will prevent you from making the same mistake again. More than often you will find the answer where you less expected. Take for instance a trader that doesn’t follow the system. The reason behind this could be that the trader is afraid of loosing. But then, why is he or she afraid? It could be that the trader is using a system that does not fit him or her, and finds difficult to follow every signal. In this case, as you can see, the nature of the mistake is not in the surface. You need to try as hard as you can to find the real reason of the given mistake.

Step three: Measure the consequences of the mistake.
List the consequences of making that particular mistake, both good and bad. Good consequences are those that make us better traders after dealing with the mistake. Think on all possible reasons you can learn from what happened. For the same example above, what are the consequences of making that mistake? Well, if you don’t follow the system, you will gradually loose confidence in it, and this at the end will put you into trades you don’t really want to be, and out of trades you should be in.

Step four: Take action.
Taking proper action is the last and most important step. In order to learn, you need to change your behavior. Make sure that whatever you do, you become “this-mistake-proof”. By taking action we turn every single mistake into a small part of success in our trading career. Continuing with the same example, redefining the system would be the trader’s final step. The trader would put a system that perfectly fits him or her, so the trader doesn’t find any trouble following it in future signals.

Understanding the fact that the outcome of any trade has nothing to do with a mistake will open your mind to other possibilities, where you will be able to understand the nature of every mistake made. This at the same time will open the doors for your trading career as you work and take proper action on every mistake made.

The process of success is slow, and plenty of times it is attributed to repeated mistakes made and the constant struggle to get past these mistakes, working on them accordingly. How we deal with them will shape our future as a trader, and most importantly as a person.

Raul Lopez

Trading Psychology: Mistakes in a Trading Environment.

2005-12-20T08:32:00.000-08:00

Trading Psychology: Mistakes in a Trading Environment.

2005-12-20T08:29:00.000-08:00

Forex Technical Analysis: The Art of Predicting the Future by Studying the Past

2005-12-20T08:21:00.000-08:00

Technical Analysis is the easiest and most precise way of trading the FOREX market known by the forex traders community. All available information on any particular currency, and its impact on traders, and the market, are already reflected in a currency's price. The foreign exchange market is mostly composed of trends and is, therefore, a place where technical analysis can be used very effectively. Experience in trading has shown that history repeats itself - over time, certain chart patterns become consistent, predictable and very reliable. The problem is being able of spoting them. There's always more than meets the eye at first glance.

Prices move in trends; and the traders who don't know this fact obviously have no need to implement a trading methodology on technical analysis, they haven’t even realized yet. But, over 100 years of research has shown that those who trade "with the trend", more often than not, greatly improve their chances of winning in the forex markets (i.e., making a profitable trade).

Many times finding the prevailing trend will help you become aware of the overall market direction and offer you better visibility--especially when shorter-term movements tend to clutter the picture. And many times following the trend will bail you out of an initially less than great entry point.

The main question you may be asking yourself by now is; how does technical analysis help you to determine what the trend of the market is and how does it help your efforts to trade with the trend and not against the trend?

It is important to mention that no one is claiming technical analysis as the “magic bullet” of trading . And if you ask, which indicators are better in Forex trading? The answer is none - technical indicators should simply be components of your overall customized / personalized trading system and not systems in and of themselves. They are like tools in a tool kit, not the kit itself!)/

As a Forex Technical Trader, your goals are:

#1) To figure out the price action of the currency pair. Price is the main concern. If the EUR/USD is at 1.3226 and goes to 1.3219, 1.3112, 1.3008 - the market is in a down trend. Despite what every technical indicator might predict, if the trend is down, stay with the trend. Indicators showing where price will go next or what it should be doing are useless. A trader need only be concerned with what the market is doing, not what the market might do. The price tells you what the market is doing.

#2) To always remember that technical indicators are only giving you confirmations based on what the market is telling you. So listen and pay close attention to the market and let it dictate which method you will use and which tool you will pull out of your bag of strategies and techniques. For only by listening to the markets will you ever be able to conquer it successfully and become a profitable trader.

Adrian Pablo

Currency Trading: Understanding the Basics of Currency Trading

2005-12-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

You keep hearing about this money making system that requires no selling, only an hour a day (max) and no special skill.

Yeah right.

At least that's the first impression for someone who has been in the internet for a while.

Enter E-Currency Trading.

What if you were able to provide the liquid capital for "Internet Money" so that it could be used with as a backup or “real money”?

You can make around 1.5% to 4% in daily interests on your capital for doing that. My eyes almost popped out. You can gain coumpounding interest for a starting investment as little as 50 bucks.

Depending on your background, it may be a little hard to believe that you can take $100 and turn them into $800 in less than 45 days. I'm 21 years old and it was tought for me to believe it. You're actually putting your money to work. Yep, it happens. And it takes no special skill. After all, your money is the one doing all the hard work.

There is a downside, of course. It’s a very complex system to grasp at first. In fact it can be overwhelming if you don’t know what the heck you’re doing. Open an account here, another one there, buy some stuff here buy some stuff there. You could go insane trying to figure it out by yourself.

I was lucky enough to do it the simple way. If someone guides you step by step, with a visual image of how he uses the system Every-Step-Of-the-Way,

“do this, open this account, then open this other account, put your money here, transfer it here, and see how it grows”

When someone takes you by the hand like that and teaches you, it just become too easy. All I did was watch a video, do Exactly like on the video. Watch the next video, do exactly what you see on the video. Watch the next video and... well you get the point.

The great thing about E-currency Trading is that you and I and everyone else does the same thing to make money. We all take the same path. If you’re heading this way, if you’re interested in learning about e-currency trading, I can recommend you take the smart way and learn the system instead of trying to figuring out for yourself.

When you decide to learn currency exchange the smart way, the rewards are higher in a shorter time frame, without really having a learning curve because you are learning it directly from a source that is already generating income for themselves.

Remember the law that says that the shortest path between two distances is a straight line.

Charles Cruz

Forex Trading Education: Things You Should Know About Forex Trading

2005-12-20T07:51:00.000-08:00

How difficult is it to make money trading the Forex market? How much time does it take to actually be able to make a living trading the Forex market? These and other important aspects of trading are to be discussed in this article.

Trading the Forex market has many benefits over other financial markets, among the most important are: superior liquidity, 24hrs market, better execution, and others. Traders and investor see the Forex market as a new speculation or diversifying opportunity because of these benefits. Does this mean that it is easy to make money trading the Forex Market? Not at all.

Forex brokers agree that 90% of traders end up losing money, 5% of traders end up at break even and only 5% of them achieve consistent profitable results. With these statistics shown, I don’t consider trading to be an easy task. But, is it harder to master any other endeavor? I don’t think so, consider musicians, writers, or even other businesses, the success rates are about the same, there are a whole bunch of them who never got to the top.

Now that we know it is not easy to achieve consistent profitable results, a must question would be, Why is it that some traders succeed while others fail to trade successfully in the Forex market? There is no hard answer to this question, or a recipe to follow to achieve consistent profitable results. What we do know is that traders that reach the top think different. That’s right, they don’t follow the crowd, they are an independent part of the crowd.

A few things that separate the top traders from the rest are:

Education: They are very well educated in the matter; they have chosen to learn every single and important aspect of trading. The best traders know that every trade is a learning experience. They approach the Forex market with humility, otherwise the market will prove them wrong.

Forex trading system: Top traders have a Forex trading system. They have the discipline to follow it rigorously, because they know that only the trades that are signaled by their system have a greater rate of success.

Price behavior: They have incorporated price behavior into their trading systems. They know price action has the last word.

Money management: Avoiding the risk of ruin is a primary subject to the best traders. After all, you cannot succeed without funds in your trading account.

Trading psychology: They are aware of every psychological issue that affects the decisions made by traders. They have accepted the fact that every individual trade has two probable outcomes, not just the winning side.

These are, among others, the most important factors that influence the success rate of Forex traders.

We know now that it is not easy to make money trading the Forex market, but it is possible. We also discussed the most important factors that influence the rate of success of Forex traders. But, how much time does it take to have consistent profitable results? It is different from trader to trader. For some, it could take a life time, and still don’t get the desired results, for some others, a few years are enough to get consistent profitable results. The answer to this question may vary, but what I want to make clear here is that trading successfully is a process, it’s not something you can do in a short period of time.

Trading successfully is no easy task; it is a process and could take years to achieve the desired results. There are a few things though every trader should take in consideration that could accelerate the process: having a trading system, using money management, education, being aware of psychological issues, discipline to follow your trading system and your trading plan, and others.

Raul Lopez

Are you prepared to currency trade?

2005-12-20T07:49:00.000-08:00

Currency trading is the most popular way to earn to money and it is without doubt a very profitable market. However few are familiar with its unpleasant intricacies and most ignore a very important aspect: risk. It is not enough only to be given the chance to invest your money successfully, you have to be careful because Currency trading can be an efficient trading system or it can ruin you. Why is Currency trading risky?

- Currency trading is very unstable. It is the subject of rapid and overwhelming changes. The market is volatile and it is influenced by political events.
- One can loose at any time especially when he has just ventured into Currency trading. Experience, information and attention are necessary.
- Some unexpectedly loose the Risk Capital which sometimes consists of College money, the retirement funds or some other substantial sum that shouldn’t have been considered as Currency trading capital in the first place.
- Fluctuations in currency prices, discrepancies between interest rates in two different countries, insolvency of financial institutions that take part in transactions and limited flow of exotic currencies will most likely lead to loss.
- Large profits and minimal losses are impossible to predict with 100% certainty.
- The Currency trading market has great winning potential, but it also has loss potential.
- Misinformation and the emotional baggage are most of the time cause of loss. Use facts, not hope or fear, when Currency trading.
- Sometimes trends can lead to money loss.
- Huge leverage is available to traders. This leads to dangerous positions that risk too much in comparison with the size of the account.
- Lacks of money management and of back testing plans are the mistakes that currency traders make sometimes.
- Using brokers is sometimes inefficient because this counterpart can refuse to trade during volatile market conditions affecting the retail trader. They can even widen spreads. However it is recommended to collaborate with a broker, because he can deal in the interbank market and he surely knows more about Currency trading making it safer from other points of view.
- Scams were very common years ago when dealing with a broker. However, one can be confident with the person he is working with by checking their background and the Institutions he is associated with (large banks, important insurance companies).

Don’t be frightened! It isn’t all about risks. And don’t start trading in fear! You will loose this way. You just have to keep in mind all possibilities and avoid unwanted situations only you can get yourself into. All Currency traders have to be very well informed about their activity. They have to know technical analysis and how to read and interpret charts, they have to develop effective strategies and minimize risk. The financial exposure has to be limited and this can be done in many ways available to currency traders who inform themselves.

So, educate yourself, be prudent, take risks only when you can handle loss and always be prepared for anything. And have this in mind: If Currency trading isn’t profitable then why are so many financial investors, banks, international institutions and important players that obtain huge amounts of cash by simply turning their own money into other currencies?

Author: Amelie Mag

Forex: Why Psychiatrists Make Better Traders Than Expert Economists?

2005-12-20T07:38:00.000-08:00

It should be noted that millionaire traders, Elder, Williams and some others are in fact professional psychiatrists. And it is not accidental that not the economists are the leaders and most successful traders, but professional psychiatrists and psychotherapists. Think about it. You will become a successful trader when you understand why it happens with Forex. You will understand what your Forex mistakes are, and why you are making them. And when you correct these mistakes you will become a trader who has no psychological barriers and obstacles on his way to better earnings in the Forex market.

So, why do the psychiatrists make better traders than economists who, as one would think, have the Forex market at their finger tips?

The economists are confused by:

- the fact that exchange rates are not always related directly to the economic circumstances in the countries. Well, do you know any economist who would be bidding for low fx rates when the economic situation is getting better and better? Or the one who admits that technical analysis of currency pairs is more important for Forex trading than the fundamental one? Any economist is confident that this can never happen because he knows all the economic dogmas. But it happens in the Forex. After all, how can a trader lose with the currencies moving up and down by the economic rules? The currency will surely react to the economic changes in the country, but who knows when and how? Here is a tip: there is the Elliott fifth way to teach a lesson to the ones who believe that fundamental knowledge is enough (before the trend turns, the currency spurts absurdly by the old trend), to confuse and draw the newbies into the game, while the experts wait for the trend to turn back.

- the lack of psychological knowledge that helps to understand the behavior of the crowd. And that is self-evident.

Are there any methods to overcome this fear?

It seems that every Forex book, every article offers efficient solutions for psychological difficulties experienced by the traders.

IN FACT NEITHER OF THESE BOOKS CONTAINS METHODS TO OVERCOME THE FEAR EXPERIENCED BY A FOREX TRADER!

But what do these books offer instead?

Almost every book of this kind consists of two unequal parts:

- the bigger part of the book narrates about traders’ problem that interfere with their Forex work and make it unsuccessful (nervousness, doubts, worries, fear, sleep deprivation, etc.). As if the traders do not know their own problems.

- the considerably lesser part contains conclusions and recommendations to the traders who are to solve their problems and overcome their fears to become successful.

The conclusions are disappointing:

Many psychiatrists realize that the new field opens before their eyes – now they may treat traders whose number amounts to millions all over the world and is growing with every day. And since most traders have a dream to become as successful as George Soros and other famous traders, this new field promises to be rather lucrative.

One thing is bad though: the overwhelming majority of these new-sprung trader brain specialists do not even know what the Forex is all about.

Alexander Brin

How Not to Lose Your Shirt Trading Forex

2005-12-20T07:36:00.000-08:00

Im going to be 100% honest with you and tell you the following before you consider trading currencies:

1. All forex traders, and I mean all traders lose money on trades. Ninety percent of traders lose money, largely due to lack of planning and training and having poor money management rules.

2. Trading forex is not for the unemployed, those on low incomes, who can't afford to pay their electricity bill or afford to eat. You should have at least $5,000 of trading capital (in a mini-account) that you can afford to lose. Dont expect to start an account with a few hundred dollars and expect to become a kazillionaire.

The foreign exchange market is one of most popular markets for speculation, due to its enormous size, liquidity and tendency for currencies to move in strong trends. You would think traders all over the world would make a killing, but success has been limited to very small percentage of traders.

Many traders come with false hope of making a gazillion bucks, but in reality lack the discipline required for trading. Most people usually lack the discipline to stick to a diet or to go to the gym three times a week. If you can't even do that, how do you think you're going to succeed trading?

Short term trading is not an amateur's game and is rarely the path for quick riches. You can't make gigantic profits without taking gigantic risks. A trading strategy that involves taking a massive degree of risk means suffering inconsistent trading performance and often suffering large losses. A trader who does this probably doesnt even have a trading strategy - unless you call gambling a trading strategy!

Forex Trading is not a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme!

Forex trading is a SKILL that takes TIME to learn. Skilled traders can and do make money in this field. However like any other occupation or career, success doesnt just happen overnight.

Forex trading isnt a piece of cake as some people would like you to believe. Think about it, if it was, everyone would already be gazillionaires. The truth is even expert traders with years of experience still encounter periodic losses. Drill this in your head: there are no shortcuts to forex trading, it takes lots and lots of time to master.

There is no substitute for hard work and diligence. Practice trading on a demo account and pretend the virtual money is your own real money.

Do not open a live trading account until you are trading profitably on a demo account.

If you can't wait until you're profitable on a demo account. at least demo trade for 2 months. If you can't hold out for 2 months, cut your hands off.
Concentrate on 1 major currency pair.

It gets far too complicated to keep tabs on more than one currency pair when you first start trading. Stick with one of the majors because the spreads are the best and they are the most liquid.

You can be a winner at currency trading, but as in all other aspects of life, it will take hard work, dedication, a little luck, a lot of common sense, and an abundance of good judgment.

Scottie Pippin

The Iraqi Dinar In A Nutshell

2005-12-20T07:31:00.000-08:00

The Iraqi dinar (pronounced: di-'när) is the legal currency of Iraq.

Old Iraqi dinar

The Iraqi dinar was introduced into circulation in 1931 and was at par with the Pound sterling. The Iraqi dinar replaced the Indian rupee that was the official currency at the time of the British occupation in World War I. After the 1958 coup d'etat, the Iraqi dinar was dissociated from the Pound sterling, but continued to have a very high value.

After the Gulf War in 1991 and due to the economic blockade and unrestricted printing of banknotes by the government, the dinar devalued fast, and in late 1995, $1 equaled 3000 dinars.

Banknotes issued between 1990 and October 2003, along with a 25-dinar note issued in 1986, bear an idealized engraving of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Following the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq's currency was printed using poor grade wood pulp paper (rather than cotton or linen) and inferior quality lithography.

Counterfeited banknotes often appeared to be of better quality than real notes. Despite the collapse in the value of the Iraqi dinar, the highest denomination printed until 2002 was 250 dinars.

Currency printed before the Gulf War was often called the Swiss dinar. It got its name from the Swiss printing technology that produced banknotes of a considerably higher quality than those later produced under the economic sanctions that were imposed after the first Gulf War. After a changeover period, the Iraqi government disendorsed this currency. However, this old currency still circulated in the Kurdish regions of Iraq until it was replaced with the new dinar after the second Gulf War.

New Iraqi dinar

Between October 15, 2003 and January 15, 2004, the Coalition Provisional Authority issued the new Iraqi dinar to "create a single unified currency that is used throughout all of Iraq.

The Hampshire-based Company "De La Rue" printed the New Iraqi dinars, also known as the "Post - Saddam" dinars, in England, in six denominations: 50, 250, 1000, 5000, 10,000 and 25,000 Dinars.

In November of 2004 the new 500-dinar note was issued by the Central Bank of Iraq to facilitate market transactions. The banknotes are beautiful and of "Swiss" quality with many security features rendering them very hard to counterfeit, features include, watermarks, metallic inks, security thread, ultraviolet images and raised lettering.

Value of the new dinar

Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the Middle East and the largest reserves of natural gas. The new Iraq will be able to take full advantage of exporting these resources with sanctions no longer in place.

As Iraq is welcomed back into the International Community the value of the New Iraqi Dinar should rise. How high? That is what you speculate on when buying Iraqi Dinars! (And nobody dares to predict!)

Marcel Heersema

“How To” Start Trading The Forex Market ? (Part 4 )

2005-12-20T07:26:00.000-08:00

How Currencies are quoted and what moves individual currencies?

ONE of the best advantages in FOREX Trading is

The amount of money you need to place a trade (known as "margin") is all that can be lost !

You have to know, that despite the super-high leverage offered by some Forex brokers up to (400:1); meaning if you put up $ 1000 the broker will allow you to trade like you really have $400.000).

Forex trading is still less riskier than Stock or Futures Trading, where you can loose more than you have deposited in your account.

This type of LEVERAGE does NOT EXIST in the equities or futures market

In the Equities or Futures markets, very often, sudden and dramatic moves occur, against which you can’t protect yourself, even by having placed your protective stops.

Your position may be liquidated at a loss, and you’ll be liable for any resulting deficit in the account.

But because of the FX market’s deep liquidity and 24-hour, continuous trading, dangerous trading gaps and limit moves are almost eliminated.

Orders are executed quickly, without slippage or partial fills. And finally, there are no margin calls. For your protection, the broker will automatically close out some or all of your open positions if your account equity falls below the level required to hold the positions.

Think of this as a final, automatic stop, always working on your behalf to prevent a debit balance.

Currencies are traded in dollar amounts called “ LOTS”

In Forex trading, with most Brokers, you have the choice between 2 different lot sizes.

Standard Lots or Mini Lots.

One Standard lot is equal to $100,000 in currency. The margin requirements, using a 400:1 Leverage, would be US$ 250, in other word you control $100,000 worth of currency for only 250 US dollars.

You mean, depositing $250 with a broker, I could trade 100,000$ worth of currency ???

NO, be aware, that your account size has to be more than the required margin of US 250. For example, if you place an order to buy 1 Standard lot ( @100,000) of USD/JPY and USD/JPY is quoted as 112.10/112.13, you buy USD/JPY at 112.13.

Your account balance would be $220, because you paid 3 pips or $ 30 for this trade.

If you would close this trade immediately, you have to sell it at 112.10 (the bid price) , for a loss of $ 30.

In fact you could not get executed on this trade, as the brokers trading platform would reject your order, for the reason of having insufficient funds in your account).

So, your account balance has to be minimum $280. $250 for margin and $30 for the trade.

BUT....IF, after you have initiated the trade to buy USD/JPY at 112.13, and the USD/JPY falls the next second 1 pip ( approx. $8), your position would be closed automatically, because of margin deficit.

I will explain later about having an adequate account size to trade the Forex Market.

Currencies are always traded in pairs in the FOREX. The pairs have a unique notation that expresses what currencies are being traded.

The symbol for a currency pair will always be in the form ABC/DEF. ABC/DEF is not a real currency pair, it is an example of a symbol for a currency pair. In this example ABC is the symbol for one countries currency and DEF is the symbol for another countries currency.

Some of the most common symbols used in Forex are:

USD - The US Dollar
EUR - The currency of the European Union "EURO"
GBP - The British Pound or cable
JPY - The Japanese Yen
CHF - The Swiss Franc
AUD - The Australian Dollar
CAD - The Canadian Dollar

There are symbols for other currencies as well, but these are the most commonly traded ones.

A currency can never be traded by itself. So you can not ever trade the USD by itself. You always need to BUY one currency and SELL another currency to make a trade possible.

Some of the most traded currency pairs are:

EUR/USD Euro against US Dollar

USD/JPY US Dollar against Japanese Yen

GBP/USD British Pound against US Dollar

USD/CAD US Dollar against Canadian Dollar

AUD/USD Australian Dollar against US Dollar

USD/CHF US Dollar against Swiss Franc

EUR/JPY Euro against Japanese Yen

The currency left of the / is called the base currency.

The currency right of the / is called the counter currency.

When you place an order to buy the EUR/USD, for instance, you are actually buying the EUR and selling the USD.

If you were to sell the pair, you would be selling the EUR and buying the USD. So if you buy or sell a currency PAIR, you are buying/selling the base currency.

The best way to remember is, by just thinking of the entire currency pair as one item.

If you buy it...you buy the first currency and sell the second currency. If you sell it...you sell the first currency and buy the second currency.

That means you would to be able to short-sell with no restrictions so you could make money when the market drops as well as when it rises.

The problem with traditional stock market or commodity trading is that the market has to go up for you to make money. With FOREX trading you can make money in all directions.

The Evolution Of The Giant Turtle

2005-12-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

You know, it’s true what they say. “The more things change, the more they stay the same!” It has been just about three years now, since January of 2003, that I wrote my now classic “I Was Wrong” article, admitting that trend following was not dead after all. And in the past couple of years, we have seen some good trending markets and some nice returns, with the Turtle computer model being up between 50% and 100% for 2003 and 2004 respectively. And while the current final yearly results are not quite in yet, although 2005 got off to a pretty rough start, it looks like a late rally in many of the markets is going to wind up giving us another profitable year.

But the truth of the matter is, if you look very closely, as I have, at both the Turtle system in particular as well as other trend following systems in general, there are some things that have changed slightly. An examination of ‘rolling’ five or ten year periods will show some smaller deteriorating statistics since the ‘formal’ origination of the trading method back in the early 1980’s. The total returns are slightly lower, the drawdowns are a little deeper, and the recovery periods are a little longer.

There are several reasons for this, most of which can be summed up under the wide umbrella of natural progression. On the one hand, we have the good old fashioned Darwinistic “survival of the fittest model”.

Hey, trading is basically still one big zero sum game, where somebody has to win, and somebody else has to lose. The winners are the smarter combatants, the losers will tap out and fall by the wayside (or even become ‘brokers’). As with any competition, this means that eventually, you will have the winners competing against other winners, thus raising the bar for the entire level of competition, and making the whole damn game harder to begin with. At least that is the philosophical argument for what happens.

The technical argument is a lot more cut and dried, but it is basically the same story. In the ‘old’ days, whoever was the first and quickest to figure things out while they were still changing had a huge edge. But then along came that crutch to human thought, the computer. By the early 1990’s everybody had one sitting on his desk, and the playing field had been greatly leveled. Information still flowed, but now it flowed faster, and everyone became more quickly aware of it. Which meant that all the traders on the outside were now able to more quickly adjust their positions and come back into line with whatever sudden new information had become available.

I have spoken at great lengths before about how and why trend following works, and the fundamental reasons that trends come about in the first place. Simply put, when something happens to either the supply or demand of a commodity (or stock), the equilibrium fair market value shifts, and the price moves to a new level. In the old days, sometimes it took a while for the market mechanism to find this new level, but nowadays, thanks to more powerful computer speed and efficiency, everything is all happening a lot faster.

The end result as far as we are concerned is two fold. First of all, the trends that do occur are more explosive coming out of the box, which means the trader has to be both quicker and more nimble, both jumping on board, and holding on. Secondly, and more importantly, is the fact that these trends don’t run as far, or last as long, as they used to, before all the players have had a chance to adjust their positions, and the market (any market) comes back into balance.

To put it in Turtle terms, a good freeze or heat wave or embargo used to cause a market like Coffee or Soybeans or Crude Oil to run for months, and give us maybe a 40 N move before it was over. I remember a hot dry Summer in 1988 when Beans ran 40 N. I also remember that Crude Oil during the first Gulf War in 1991 ran for just about a 40 N profit as well. Hell, there was even a nice 40 N run in the Stock Indexes during the dot.com bubble of the mid 1990’s. But in the past five years or so, I am hard pressed to think of any market that has had such a big super trend.

Back in the 1980’s, these were the kinds of moves we got excited about, and we got one or two of them almost every year. 20 N moves were fairly common place, and 10 N was nothing that much to get excited about. But since the turn of the century, I think 20-25 N moves are about the largest I can recall seeing. I think Feeder Cattle last year at 23 N was the largest trend of the year, and a further problem is that not too many people even follow that (relatively) small market.

But remember, we still need these few big home run trades every year to pay for all the small losses and whipsaws and slippage and other costs of doing trading on a daily basis. The basic problem during the ‘difficult’ periods is not that we don’t get any trends, but that the trends we do get are not big enough or long enough to pay for all the other stuff. We are still trading in a distribution that has more losing trades than winning ones, so at least some of the few winners we do hit still have to be large enough to cover all the losses.

The question we face as continually evolving traders becomes, what, if anything, are we supposed to do about this kind of stuff. In the past, I have been a large advocate of the school of thought that says, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Sure, the Turtles, or any other trend followers, were not getting the easy triple digit returns from two decades ago. But hey, we were still doing better than anybody else around, and I for one did not see a lot of reason to complain, or even get upset about it.

But my thinking has changed in the past couple of years. I’m no longer holding out for the 40 N outliers, because they just don’t come around that often any more. I have not gotten to the point where if I see a trend approaching 20 N profit, I start putting one foot out the door, and looking around for warning signs to get me to duck out quickly. Those warning signs will come in the form of some other types of indicators I have learned to pay attention to. But keep in mind that all of this is still just a math and probability decision, not one of fear or emotion or just ‘wanting’ to take a profit.

Without getting into too much of the detail, let’s just say that at some point it can still be obvious that if you have a reasonable minimum probability of catching a big move, you should try to hold out for it. On the other hand, if the chances are lower of that big move occurring, then at some point it has to become better to take the smaller but surer profit. And while the odds are not always so quantifiable, and this is as much art as it is science, let’s just say I have been getting better at it with more experience over the years.

The bottom line is that where I used to hold out as long as possible, often times after the trend had reversed on me, now I am quicker to exit first and ask questions later. And to be sure, I have left some money on the table when the trend kept going and I had gotten out prematurely. But I have also saved a lot more by recognizing when the party was over and getting out before everybody else ran for the door. And the funny thing is that one of my brokers thinks I have become a better trader, because he has always been an advocate of locking up a profit and putting some money in your pocket. But that is not the reason I do what I do, my criteria are technical and unemotional in nature.

Of course, Richard Dennis was always an advocate of using personal discretion to override mechanical technical criteria, the trick has been getting good at knowing how and when to do this. And I think this is something that cannot be taught, even by me, but just comes with experience. I can now look at half a dozen different things, including stochastics, market profiles, sentiment indicators, and even news reports, and somehow assimilate that all in my mind and decide when it ‘feels right’ to make a discretionary move.

Last year at Thanksgiving, I exited some Currency trends right near the top of the market. And this year, I got out of the Energies right after Hurricane Katrina, two days off the top. As I have gotten better at this, I have also been able to strengthen the courage of my convictions to stick to my guns and not second guess myself. In the past, if I would get out of a trade too early and it kept on going, I would think I made a mistake and then try to jump back in, ostensibly at a worse price than when I got out. Now, once I’m out, I have the patience and discipline to stay out, and fight the temptation to jump back in and whip myself around.

It seems when I am wrong, I am wrong by a little, because even if the move keeps going, it doesn’t go too far before it eventually peters out and turns around. I got out of the Yen last week, and have left about 1 N on the table so far. And I just got out of some Gold the other night, and right now it is sharply higher again (also by about 1 N). But when I’m right, as in Unleaded Gas this past August, I was able to save myself close to 10 N before the market reversed enough for the computer model to finally give a liquidation signal. So that seems like a pretty fair tradeoff for me. And it is also the big reason that my personal trading account is outperforming the Turtle computer model so far in 2005.

Russell Sands

Ringtones the multibillion dollar business

2005-12-10T22:38:00.000-08:00

Yet another year's growth in the mobile ringtone market has confirmed its position as a major force in the music industry.

Once considered a passing craze, ringtones now account for more than 10% of the global music market and are overtaking CD sales sooner than expected. Few thought that the monophonic tones of the late 1990s would evolve into the multi-billion dollar market that exists today. But, following the advent of true polyphonic ringtones in 2003, the realisation of their potential has developed a fresh momentum.

Unable to ignore the ringtone market, the music business has come to embrace its future and its influence on youth culture. This is especially true of the hip-hop industry whose output makes-up more than half of all downloaded ringtones. Successful artists such as 50 Cent, Mariah Carey and Kanye West have all learnt that ringtones are by no means a niche product. To hear the latest from the mobile ringtone charts visit Ringtones.lt

If there is a key to this success then it is probably the creation of a 'total product', that is, the full customisation of phones with ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers, logos, picture messages and games. This has led to huge consumer choice and demand, with endless catalogues of music and themes now available on both mono and polyphonic phones. Another factor has been the obvious media impact, with the likes of the infamous Crazy Frog ringtone experiencing unprecedented coverage.

This popularity should continue for a while yet, thanks to advances in sound quality and the use of MP3 and Real Music by the current generation of phones. There are still new markets to explore as well, with the music-loving Latin Americans expected provide the next big growth area.

Ultimately, the long term success of the ringtone market could depend on the ability of the major phone manufacturers like Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Samsung to combine the very latest technology with wide-ranging compatibility; a balance which is becoming increasingly important in this truly global industry.

Author: Philip Nicosia

Ringtones the multibillion dollar business

2005-12-10T22:34:00.000-08:00

Nokia - From Start to Finnish

2005-12-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

Some companies have at least nine lives, it would seem. Nokia was founded in southwestern Finland, in 1865, by a mining engineer, one, Frederik Idestam, as a wood-pulp mill. An eponymous town formed around it. Independently, the Finnish Rubber Works took on the town name in the 1920s, having been established there in 1898.

The Nokia rubber company acquired Finnish Cable Works - another enterprise located in Nokia since 1912. In 1967, the three became the Nokia Group. In the 1980s, Nokia took over Mobira, Salora, Televa and Luxor of Sweden and became a consumer electronics group - manufacturing televisions and such.

Nokia continued with its acquisitions spree and, in 1987, bought the consumer electronics operations and part of the component business of the German Standard Elektrik Lorenz, the French consumer electronics company Oceanic, and the Swiss cable machinery company Maillefer. It proceeded to become the largest Scandinavian information technology company by digesting Ericsson's data systems division. In 1989, Nokia emerged as a leader in the cable industry in Continental Europe by purchasing the Dutch cable company NKF.

During the 1990s the consolidated group refocused on the mobile phone market and divested all its other businesses.

Author: Sam Vaknin

50 Emergency Uses For Your Camera Phone

2005-12-10T22:28:00.000-08:00

In an emergency youll need to provide and receive help, and after its over, youll have to return, repair, and rebuild. Central to all this is communication and documentation. Our society loves red tape, especially after disasters. Below are 50 ways the camera phone can be used in an emergency to document, record, and relay important information.

Any camera could be used for some of these things, but the phonecam carries a distinct advantage. It can immediately transmit your pictures. If you dont have a phonecam, go with what you have, or what you can afford. Disposable cameras and digital cameras are acceptable. However, the phonecam rules, so lets look at ways yours can be used in an emergency. These are excerpts from Disaster Prep 101.

1. Last minute child ID. Whenever the family might be separated, take last-minute pictures of all family members, especially the kids, and pets.

2. Send a map. To send or receive directions to or from a location when voice directions arent working, draw a map on paper, take a picture, and send.

3. Injury photos to the doctor. Suppose help isnt available, and someones sick or injured. If there are visible signs or symptoms, relay pictures to medical personnel who can walk you through whatever treatment is possible where you are.

4. Damage documentation. In catastrophes, itll be days before insurance adjusters get there to file claims. Photo all damage in case some of it gets repaired or cleaned up before agents arrive.

5. Report suspicious activity. If you see suspicious activity in your neighborhood, upload pictures of suspects and the situation to the Police immediately.

6. Heres the landmark. Gathering the family is critical. If you dont have a fixed meeting place, send pictures of where and what youre near so others can find you. This also works well if youre lost in the wilderness and need to relay pictures of landmarks.

7. Meet us here. If you have a fixed rendezvous point, send a pic you already have on file, so others will know where to meet. Take these photos while compiling your family emergency plan.

8. Photo shopping list. When stocking up in anticipation of an emergency, take a picture of your pantry as a quick shopping list.

9. Driving directions. If youre trying to tell others where a certain location is, send a picture by picture set of directions. Create this file while assembling your family reaction plan.

10. Meet this person. If your family evacuates, and they know where to go, but havent met the family contact person, send them a picture of the person theyre to meet, or send that person pictures of the people heading their way.

11. Last minute property inventory. If youre evacuating, snap quick shots of your property to include purchases not on your last home inventory, and the current condition of your property.

12. Adventure journal. Take pictures to record what you do, where you go, and people you meet during an evacuation, etc.

13. Situational severity. In a large-scale emergency, first responders will be overworked. They might not be available for a minor situation. However, the situation might be worse than they understand, and you might need serious help. Send a picture of how bad things are.

14. Quick text messaging. You might not have time to type a message, and the lines might not be open long enough for a conversation. Write a note on paper, take a picture, and send that.

15. Minor traffic mishap. In a minor fender-bender, with no injuries or disabled vehicles, most jurisdictions will tell you to swap info and move along. If thats the case (always call 911 to make sure), photo the vehicular damage, people involved, witnesses at the scene (and their car tag numbers), and of others involved in the accident to show their injuries (or lack thereof).

16. Wallet backup. Take pictures of your wallets contents (or important documents) to record numbers, and show that cards are or were in your possession. Be careful with this info as its very sensitive and can be used for identity theft!

17. Inclement weather reporting. If youre the first to see the funnel cloud, hail, or a river overflowing, send a picture to the weather service or authorities as rapid proof an emergency is developing.

18. First Responder intel. The more first responders know about a collapsed house, an auto accident, a fire in progress, or any other emergency, the more rapid and appropriate a reaction they can make.

19. Missing persons. Send picture of picture. In addition to last minute family photos, send a picture of a photograph in your purse or wallet of a missing family member.

20. Relay property damage to or from neighbors. After a disaster, whoever goes home first, either you or your neighbors, could photograph area damage and relay info to the other.

21. Help insurance adjusters find your property. After a devastating incident, street signs will be gone, house numbers wont be visible, etc. Take current pictures of landmarks or unique damage near or at your property to make it easier to find you.

22. Copy bulletin boards. If youre in an emergency shelter, and theres an info bulletin board, youll need the info but might not be able to write it down. Take a picture!

23. Bus, subway, or city map. If youre anywhere youre not familiar with and theres a posted map, take a picture of it for later reference if you get lost.

24. Document your route. When traveling to a new area, and you want to find your way back, take pictures along the way of landmarks at turns you make, forks in the road, etc.

25. Record medicines or food brands. To relay information about medications, or if you have special dietary needs and are sending information regarding certain brands to someone, a picture really is worth a thousand words.

26. Parking spot locations. Dont trust your memory, trust a picture. Take a pic of where you left your vehicle either in a lot or in a parking deck.

27. Engine repairs. Should you break down and your vehicle shows outward signs of problems such as steam shooting from a hose, or liquids dripping from the engine, send a pic to a mechanic who may talk you through a quick fix.

28. Business or service function and hours. Copy posted business hours or listed service functions (and pricing) for later review and recall. This is also a good way to report price gouging.

29. Child custodian. If you cant get to your kids at school or other function, relay a picture of the person who is coming to pick them up. Send this picture to the school or function, and to your child (if they have a phonecam).

30. Info on injured or hospitalized people. You might be in a position to send pictures to people looking for loved ones or vice-versa.

31. Hotel room number. Whenever you get a hotel room, take a picture to find your way back. Photo the room number on the door, and the name of the motel and adjacent buildings.

32. ID your evac gear. As with all belongings, take a picture to prove ownership. This might come in handy with theft in emergency shelters. Its a rare occurrence, but be ready to prove things are yours.

33. Photo scavenger hunt. Youll need something to entertain the kids. Give them a short list of things they should take a picture of. First one to take all the pictures wins!

34. Identify the close-up. Another idea is to take a really close up picture of something while the kids arent looking, and have them figure out what it is.

35. Document your whereabouts. Lets say looting or rioting is occurring. You can help Police by secretively taking pictures of the perpetrators (not really recommended for safety reasons), or take pictures as youre leaving to document the fact you werent involved.

36. ID the rescuer. If a rescuer is picking up your child or pet, photo the rescuer (and the child or pet) and the vehicle they used. Photograph their name tag as well as registration numbers on helicopters, vehicle tag numbers, or names of boats.

37. Document your cleanup. It may be a while before your insurance adjuster can arrive. Take pictures of the damage as you found it, and steps you took during cleanup. Regarding insurance, NOTHING beats documentation!

38. Document expenditures. If you buy goods or supplies, rent equipment, or hire a service, in addition to receipts, photograph the goods acquired, equipment being used, services being performed, and the people involved.

39. Property pics for retrieval companies. Some scenarios will see you unable to return home. Some companies are trained and equipped to go into these areas to gather peoples belongings. Property photos will allow you to identify specific items youd like retrieved.

40. Evacuee status. Authorities will want to know who is injured, dead, or missing, and who is okay and where they are. Taking pictures of those you meet along with way, or at your emergency shelter, will help ID the living and well.

41. Language barriers. Ever try to find the restroom in a foreign country and you didnt know the phrase? Imagine how guests in our country feel in emergency situations. Pictures make communication easier, whether youre trying to understand their needs, or relay yours.

42. Transmit road conditions. Lets say after a hurricane, youre one of the first families returning home, and youre taking back roads. Authorities (or others following) might not have checked every avenue of return. If damage needs to be reported, or theres no damage (report that too), sending a picture can relay tons of information.

43. Relay traffic conditions. If family members are separated, or heading different directions, pass along traffic conditions or info from traffic warning signs.

44. Crime scene evidence. People have returned to a home undamaged by a disaster, but later looted. Since Police might not be able to show up right away, take crime scene photos (for both Police and insurance).

45. Too much on the screen? Should the TV flash pertinent information and you dont have time to write, or theres a lot of text on a computer and you cant print it, take a picture of the screen for later review.

46. ID for doctors or pharmacies. Medical needs are a real probability during an emergency. Since you cant get to your doctor, and they might phone in a prescription to a pharmacy that doesnt know either of you, use your phone to verify your identity to your doctor, and your doctor can relay the picture to the pharmacy.

47. Emergency supply information. Suppose a developing emergency finds you low on goods and you send different people to different supply locations. If supplies are low, these folks can send a picture of the types or brands of items available so you can make educated purchase decisions.

48. Last Minute List items and shutdown. Though everyone should keep a bugout kit packed and ready, there will be items which cannot be packed in advance. In addition to a written list, create a photo file showing items you need to take (and their location) and steps to secure the house before leaving.

49. Evac atlas. Create a travel atlas of emergency assets available along evacuation routes. Include lodging, ATM locations, emergency rooms, etc. Travel the routes and take photos, or draw maps and shoot those.

50. Reaction plan for the reading disabled. If a family member suffers from any reading disability, using photos is a must. Create a photo file that will relay your entire emergency plan without using text.mes of boats.

37. Document your cleanup. It may be a while before your insurance adjuster can arrive. Take pictures of the damage as you found it, and steps you took during cleanup. Regarding insurance, NOTHING beats documentation!

38. Document expenditures. If you buy goods or supplies, rent equipment, or hire a service, in addition to receipts, photograph the goods acquired, equipment being used, services being performed, and the people involved.

39. Property pics for retrieval companies. Some scenarios will see you unable to return home. Some companies are trained and equipped to go into these areas to gather peoples belongings. Property photos will allow you to identify specific items youd like retrieved.

40. Evacuee status. Authorities will want to know who is injured, dead, or missing, and who is okay and where they are. Taking pictures of those you meet along with way, or at your emergency shelter, will help ID the living and well.

41. Language barriers. Ever try to find the restroom in a foreign country and you didnt know the phrase? Imagine how guests in our country feel in emergency situations. Pictures make communication easier, whether youre trying to understand their needs, or relay yours.

42. Transmit road conditions. Lets say after a hurricane, youre one of the first families returning home, and youre taking back roads. Authorities (or others following) might not have checked every avenue of return. If damage needs to be reported, or theres no damage (report that too), sending a picture can relay tons of information.

43. Relay traffic conditions. If family members are separated, or heading different directions, pass along traffic conditions or info from traffic warning signs.

44. Crime scene evidence. People have returned to a home undamaged by a disaster, but later looted. Since Police might not be able to show up right away, take crime scene photos (for both Police and insurance).

45. Too much on the screen? Should the TV flash pertinent information and you dont have time to write, or theres a lot of text on a computer and you cant print it, take a picture of the screen for later review.

46. ID for doctors or pharmacies. Medical needs are a real probability during an emergency. Since you cant get to your doctor, and they might phone in a prescription to a pharmacy that doesnt know either of you, use your phone to verify your identity to your doctor, and your doctor can relay the picture to the pharmacy.

47. Emergency supply information. Suppose a developing emergency finds you low on goods and you send different people to different supply locations. If supplies are low, these folks can send a picture of the types or brands of items available so you can make educated purchase decisions.

48. Last Minute List items and shutdown. Though everyone should keep a bugout kit packed and ready, there will be items which cannot be packed in advance. In addition to a written list, create a photo file showing items you need to take (and their location) and steps to secure the house before leaving.

49. Evac atlas. Create a travel atlas of emergency assets available along evacuation routes. Include lodging, ATM locations, emergency rooms, etc. Travel the routes and take photos, or draw maps and shoot those.

50. Reaction plan for the reading disabled. If a family member suffers from any reading disability, using photos is a must. Create a photo file that will relay your entire emergency plan without using text.

Author: Paul Purcell

Mobile Wallpaper Totally You

2005-12-10T22:23:00.000-08:00

One of the really awesome things about modern cell phones is the capacity they have for being personalized to suit you. With personalized ringtones, with coloured or designed or sparkly or light-up faceplates and holders, with all the great gadgets that make them really yours, cell phones are more than just a communication tool. They're a fashion accessory.

So why not go all the way and personalize your cell phone wallpaper? That's the part of your phone you're going to be looking at the most anyway. You can go classy with scenic wallpaper, or with pictures by French mpressionists. Or you can go total coordination with cell phone wallpaper that matches your faceplate. Or you can download pictures of your favourite stars and movies.

Celebrity Mobile Wallpaper for Your Cell Phone : Whether you prefer Christina Aguilera or Aishwarya Rai, you can find your idol in celebrity mobile wallpaper. Why not have cell phone wallpaper that matches your ringtone if you use Madonna's new song for your ringtone music, download a picture of the star to go with it? Or you might just want some eye-popping eye candy. Whatever you want, you can find it.

Dress Up For the Holidays : What about a picture of Old Saint Nick coming down your chimney with a bag of toys just for you? Or maybe a classic snowscape, or even a snow globe with animated snow drifting down for you. Don't forget the appropriate ring tone a hearty Ho! Ho! Ho! might be nice, or some classic holiday tunes. Your mobile wallpaper can be more dressed for the holidays than you are. You can get holiday cell phone wallpaper for any holiday you choose: Chinese New Year, Halloween, Passover, Yule your choice.

Moving Pictures: Animated Mobile Wallpaper : It's not supported by every cell phone yet, but if you don't want a boring static picture on your phone, you can find great animated mobile wallpaper with a variety of subjects online. Think about having flickering flames on your phone just behind your latest romance's name.

Cell Phone Themes : If you're one of those people who like to match all the time, you can find cell phone themes that include mobile wallpaper too. Each
theme is specific to your cell phone's brand, so be sure you choose the right one. Cell phone themes are currently available for Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson mobiles.

Author: Philip Nicosia

Java Games for Your Cell Phone

2005-12-10T22:20:00.000-08:00

Are you one of those people who get tired when standing in queue? Can't stop multitasking no matter what you do? Maybe you need to download some games for your cell phone. Java games are based on a very skinny programming language, and have surprisingly great functionality even on a limited tool like your cellphone.

Today's cell phones are multifunctional organizational tools, you can use them to entertain yourself, and you can personalize them as a fashion or personal style statement. But a lot of people just don't give a hoot about anything but games.

What's your personality in games? Action, puzzles, racing, sports? Do you like cerebral entertainment, or do you prefer first-person shooters?

Action Games

Ghost Force, Alien Unleashed, Conflict Vietnam, Predator these are just a few of the action games you can pick up for your cell phone. It's not going to look as good as it does on your flat-screen games-enhanced system at home, but you'll find that many of the functions you're used to having are there, like AI and full missions. The best news: If you're nostalgic for some of the original games, fully-functional java game versions may be available for you to download.

Online Play with Java Games

Prefer playing against real opponents? You can do that. With games like Badaz Poker and Blackjack, you have the option of playing your cell phone java games online or offline, and you can even engage in tournament play and chat with your opponents. Watch for more of this sort of game in the future.

Racing Games

Have you ever wanted to see if you could beat Lance Armstrong? Well, you can try it now from your own armchair. With games like Tour de France and Extreme Motorbike, you can race around the track or the course while you're standing still. Or you can try some Race2Kill and drive the way you've always wanted to drive in rush hour with guns, bottle rockets, and flamethrowers. Onscreen, at least, you can finally take out your fellow drivers while you're showing them your exhaust. With cell phone java games, you can dream wherever you are, without actually hurting anyone.

Adventure Games

You prefer your games with a little princess, a little sword? Try some of the great adventure games available for your cell phone. With java games like The Black Citadel, the classic Baldur's Gate, or Pirates, you'll never be caught with empty time on your hands. In fact, you might find your hands itching to play your new java game instead of whatever you're supposed to be doing.

Sports Games

With games like Dream Team Soccer or Smash and Ace (a tennis game), you can play your favorite sports while standing in queue at the grocery or just whenever. If you want to be laid-back, consider Darts and Drinks; feeling a little violent, try Ko Kickboxing. Or you can try a little sports fishing, with Shark Hunt.

Future Trends

Java games on cell phones are a new trend. Watch for more games with more functions, especially online functionality, coming in the near future.

Author: Philip Nicosia

The wonderful future of Cell Phones

2005-12-10T22:18:00.000-08:00

The popularity of the mobile phones is constantly on the rise like a snow ball. There are numerous reasons for that and they are well beyond mere communicating with each other.

The development of the cell phones and technology in the past decade along with social and cultural processes as well as sharp decrease in prices contributed to their phenomenon success.

Cell phones have long become a symbol of status as well as a fashion statement. Some manufacturers have started to produce special designed phones for women. Other models are designed with interchangeable facades to cater for the youngsters. A lot of young people are transferring their instant-messaging habits to their cell phones.

The integration of so many different functionalities and technologies into the cell phones is more impressive and beneficial than the all-in-one office devices that integrated a scanner, a copier, a fax and a printer into a single compact space saving multifunctional machine.

The current generation of G-2.5 technology as well as the very near future G-3 units that are starting to emerge right now will carry in it so many functions which are mind blowing. These new Cell phones are going to be a multimedia center, a mobile office, a navigation device GPS (Global Positioning system), a computer with fast Internet access, a text messenger, a high resolution camera and video, a watch, a calculator, a PDA, an MP3 music player, TV and a Wallet! Yes, we will be able to pay with it for things we today pay with coins like vending soda or coffee machines as well as for parking space, trains and buses tickets etc. It has become our Swiss Army Knife...

In Israel they used the cell phone to send SMS message and approval for one dollar donation payment for needy children. I guess that in the future it will be a legitimate tool for voting in contests and may be even in Elections.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, an executive for a wireless company noted that in Slovakia, people are using mobile phones to remotely switch on the heat before they return home, and in Norway, 1.5 million people can confirm their tax returns using cell phone short text messaging services. Paramedics use camera phones to send ahead to hospitals pictures of the incoming injuries; in Britain, it is now commonplace for wireless technology to allow companies to remotely access meters or gather diagnostic information. Construction workers on-site can use cell phones to send pictures to contractors off-site. Combined with the individual use of cell phonesto make appointments, locate a friend, check voicemail messages, or simply to check in at workcell phones offer peoplean unknown level of convenience. (Source: The New Atlantis Article by Christine Rosen).

Other interesting applications are providing a locating service of your friends, or in other words if one of your friends is very close to where you are right now an SMS massage can alert you of this fact.

Cell phones and Dating Services

Several companies now offer a way to flirt and meet people anonymously. These services offer cell-to-cell texting and PC-to-cell texting. (Text-messaging phones also can receive messages sent over the Internet from a PC.) Companies including UPOC (Universal Point of Contact) and SMS.ac allow users to fill out a profile as they would at any dating service (some dating sites are dabbling with texting) and then search for an ideal match. Profiles can include photos and can be accessed either with a picture-enabled cell phone or through a PC. Say you want to meet a 20- to 30-year-old man in Kentucky who is interested in hiking. Do a search and three names pop up. You can send one a text message without ever exposing your phone number

Cell phones as safety device

One of the main reasons the cell phones have become so wide spread nowadays is that besides convenience it is perceived as a security and safety aid, Parents provide their children with mobile phones in order to track their whereabouts, to make sure they arrived safely to their destinations, to give them a mobile phone to report in real time when in any sort of trouble. Many women feel much safer in the street knowing they can call for help when in need.

Author: Amit

Funny Ringtones

2005-12-10T22:15:00.000-08:00

Tired of hearing the usual ringtones all over town? Just at the coffee shop this morning you heard that annoying Nokia tune coming from at least three different people, and what about that generic ring-ring that reminds you of the office phone when youre walking down the street on a sunny day? We all need to add some fun to our lives now and then, and you dont need to brush up on your punch lines to do it. Yes, aside from the imminently useful functions we all know about, your trusty cellphone can be used as a source of amusement for you, or depending on your ringtone, a source of great irritation to those around you!

Luckily, there are a huge number of funny ringtones available today for nearly every kind of cellphone and for every kind of personality. You can download the perfect ringtone to go with your mood, current obsession, and for more fun, match it with a person on your address book. This means youll know your boss is calling when you hear Darth Vaders march, or better yet, an agonizing scream. But seriously, if youre a movie buff, youre sure to have hours of fun with some of the film-inspired ringtones around from the Terminators harsh Austrian accent informing you of a call, to the unmistakable Tarzan howl replacing the monotonous ring-ring on your phone. And its not just Stars Wars fanatics who are sure to get a hoot out of Yoda saying Answer the phone you must or Press the button to fulfill your destiny. Who wouldnt giggle (or gawk) at the sound of Jack Nicholson, Robert de Niro or the throaty voice of Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) telling you to pick up the call?

For comic types and practical joke lovers, a funny ringtone has got to be part of your everyday repertoire, and here you truly can go nuts. Try the bugle call-charge! ringtone, which is sure to grab attention on a crowded bus. The classic silly fart is another gem for those quiet times when lining up at the bank. If you want something a little more convincing, try the laughter fit and watch the person behind you try not to giggle. With an endless list of amusing ringtones, you can be funny without even trying. One word of advice though, stay away from the 50 mm machine gunfire ringtone at the airport. Others may just get the wrong end of a stick with that particular one.

The list of entertaining ringtones spawns even to that of political icons. Imagine Tony Blairs voice enumerating your cellular phones destructive prowess. How about George W. Bush reminding you of an incoming call? Or Prince Charles telling you politely that you have a call coming through? These political movers and shakers are here for one purpose- to take your calls. Beats voice mail, doesnt it?

For the non-political minded, there are still bound to be some ringtones to tickle your funny bone. Ladies, what about a sexy male voice telling you how gorgeous you are? Or the leery construction-worker wolf whistle? For the boys, maybe a sultry Latina voice is more your style, or even the infectious yawning tone? You can even try to test if the ringtone actually transmits the yawn to the person next to you.

Finally, the new breed of personalized ringtones are here not just to add a little ego to our lives, but some fun as well. You may not have the latest hi-tech robot at home to do the dishes, but your cellphone declaring Eric, you have a phone call can make you feel like 21st century boy.

Author: Philip Nicosia

Im Not Lost My Cell Phone Knows Where I Am

2005-12-10T22:11:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the days when a cell phone was just a cell phone? You pulled it out of your pocket to make a call and that was about it. Now your cell phone can take pictures, send text messages, play music, become your personal organizer, play games, and even function as your GPS.

Im not talking about the GPS chip embedded into all current cell phones. That GPS is only present to help emergency crews locate you in the event of an emergency (the same way that your landline will give away your location). Im talking about new Smart Phones that actually integrate with new GPS devices, allowing you to receive voice guided driving directions, trip planning, toll road avoidance, on the fly off-course rerouting, and now even real time-traffic information that will allow you to reroute to avoid heavy congestion. And for the cell phone purist, these new phones can even make and receive phone calls!

And just like other new GPS systems youll have access to a huge database with points of interest. Need to know the nearest gas station? No problem. You can also find the nearest restaurant, movie theatre, and even a parking garage which is especially helpful if youre in an unfamiliar city. And if you happen to be somewhere where you dont have a detailed map no problem this isnt just a GPS unit, its a Smart Phone so you can download the map you need. The new SmartPhone GPS devices can easily replace your in-car navigation system.

Probably the most widely used device for making your Smart Phone an advanced GPS is the TomTom Mobile 5. Its currently only available for a limited number of Smart Phones (check TomToms site for a list of supported phones). But for the phones it works with youll get an impressive list of features and youll even be able to change the voice of the navigator to something more entertaining (Darth Vader, anyone?). If you happen to live in the UK, you can also get access to real time safety camera information.

This is, of course, just the next step in the ever evolving cell phone. Soon new cell phones will have GPS navigation technology built in and probably more features youve never even thought to ask for.

Author: Gary Ruplinger

The Consumer Push And Drive For The Camera Phone

2005-12-10T22:02:00.000-08:00

One of the most innovative and widely sought after pieces of technology to reach the market in recent years has been the camera phone. In point of fact, the demand for a camera phone on the part of the typical consumer around the world is so intense that there oftentimes are situations when there is a backlog on orders for one camera phone model or another.

Naturally, when the camera phone first hit the market not that long ago, it was a pricy item. But, as with so many technological advances, in short time the basic camera phone became affordable for most people. Indeed, as more and more people sought to trade in an older cellular or mobile phone, it was the camera phone that they sought as a replacement.

Of course, in addition to the basic camera phone becoming more affordable and more widely used, there were many new developments in the world of the camera phone. In little time, there were so many variations on the theme of the basic camera phone, that in many ways it is more than safe to say that when it comes to the camera phone, there truly is a camera phone to fit the needs and desires of any consumer the world over.

If you are interested in owning a camera phone, you should spend some time determining how you will use your camera phone. For example, if you largely will use your phone to take pictures of family and friends and the like, you really will not need that complicated of a camera phone. On the other hand, in this day and age, many people are using their camera phone products for professional or work related purposes. As such, these people tend to desire a more sophisticated version of the camera phone.

Once you identify the primary use that your camera phone will be put to now and into the future, you can then be able to single out some different camera phone models that will best fit your needs and desires. By making a preliminary list of what exact camera phone models will suit your needs, you can then begin efficiently shopping around for the specific camera phone that will most appropriately fulfill your objectives in owning and using such a product.

In the 21st century, you have the ability to shop for a camera phone both in the brick and mortar world and on the Internet and World Wide Web. By making certain that you do shop around both in the real world and in cyberspace, you will have the best chance of finding the most ideal camera phone and a price that best fits within your budget. And, by shopping around online, you will be able to save time in your search for a camera phone.

In the end, by taking the time to find the perfect camera phone for your needs, you will end up with a camera phone that will be well used and well liked by you today and on into the future.

Author: Colin P

Cellular Service - Is it really all about the network?

2005-12-10T22:00:00.000-08:00

Is cellular service in the US really all about the network? In some cases, the answer is yes, it does. Any reliable on-line quote for service should come with detailed information on the vendors coverage area. Besides that, I'll take a rather high-level look at cellular providers starting with a bit of history.

Anyone remember the days of telephone company deregulation of the 80's? When this first occurred, I for one was not ready to switch my long distance carrier. After all, it WAS about the network. I wasn't about to leave a tried and true, big name provider for a company just starting out.

Fast forward to today. I've dumped my big name provider and went with a much smaller company. Why? Because the networks are far more advanced then they once were. Competition among carriers is fierce. I cannot tell any difference in quality between the big name and the company I chose. The cost, however, is much less than what I was paying.

The point?

The 'networks' are much more reliable and have to be in order for a company to stay competitive.

What does this have to do with cellular service? Well, it's the same thing. Most of my family and friends have cellular service. Between them, there are a number of different providers represented. When I ask any of them what they think of their service? Quality of calls, signal strength, picture taking, ring-tones, etc. they are all happy with the service they have. Apparently each of the different networks is just as good as the other.

So, is cellular service really all about the network? I would say no, it's all about the 'deal'. Because the industry is so competitive, I would look for free shipping, free phone and cash rebates along with the monthly rate. For the people I spoke to, these are the important factors. Now add in the ability for number porting (keeping your existing phone number when switching providers) and the competition for your business really heats up.

The biggest complaint I've heard from friends and family is that once they sign their contract, that's pretty much then end of it. Better deals are being offered all the time to 'new' customers but not to the 'existing' customer. Sure, they may get a newer phone, but not the same as what's being offered to 'new' customers. I expect this to change very soon especially considering number porting. If a vendor wants to keep their customer base, they better start to offer the same deals to 'existing' customers as they do new ones.

Until that time, take your phone number and shop for a better deal.

I would look online first, as the better deals tend to be online. Why? Cost. Not only is it cheaper to reach a large group of consumers online, its very cost effective.

When shopping for your next cellular calling plan, remember thats its not just the network you should be concerned about. The consumer is in charge here. Whenever competition becomes fierce, the smart consumer generally comes out ahead!

Author: Full Service Broadband Provider

Spy Matrix Spy Phone: The Ultimate Spy Cell Phone

2005-12-10T21:57:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the most advanced portable bug on the market today is the Spy Matrix Spy Phone. This spy cell phone looks just like a regular phone, and it works just like a regular cell phone. The only difference is that is also a bug. This is the ultimate in listening devices. It is the best way to keep track of teenagers or significant others who show signs of straying. And, with a little ingenuity, you can even use this spy cell phone to perform surveillance on acquaintances and strangers.

The spy cell phone is especially helpful when you want to keep track of family members. This is because you can pass it off as a new phone for the familys new cell phone plan. It is perfect. Give it to teenagers and you can go wherever they go. This Spy Matrix Spy Phone is equipped with a GPS tracker and a special microphone that picks up noises and conversation in its general vicinity. Not only that, but can also allow you to listen in to both ends of the conversation. You can know whether you teen are where she or he is supposed to be, and you can find out, from listening to what is going on in the room, whether there really is a study group.

A secret phone number allow you to activate the spy cell phone without the subject knowing that you have done so. You call the secret number (there is a second real number for regular calling purposes) and the phone quietly turns on and begins giving you access. You can forget it in a room or leave it to charge and hear what others are saying. This is a device that is also useful when performing professional surveillance for clients. No matter what you want to use the phone for, the spy cell phone is a device that few people would suspect as being a bug especially since it works just like a normal cell phone in all respects.

Stop wondering what is really going on and find out for sure. When you have the Spy Matrix Spy Phone you do not just have any phone. You have a real, top of the line spy cell phone.

Author: Kingston Amadan

Different Types of Cell Spy Phone

2005-12-10T21:55:00.000-08:00

Because cell phones are so common, it is only natural that there should be different types of spy phone made to look like regular cell phones. There are three main types of cell spy phone. Any one of them can prove to be quite useful, and they can help you get the information you seek. However, which one would work best for you depends upon what you need the phone for, and what your budget range is.

The least expensive of the cell spy phone types is a regular cell phone bug. This is simply a bug that looks like a cell phone. While it does have some limited cell phone capabilities, it is generally just a glorified stationary device. You can forget it someplace, or leave it in a room to charge, but it only picks up the sounds from a specific area. It is a lot like a regular RF transmitter bug, only it looks like a cell phone. This is a good choice for inexpensive surveillance, but you have to be careful or people will start wondering why your phone never seems to be with you.

Another spy phone disguised as a cell phone has a few more capabilities. This type of phone allows you to hone in on conversations in your vicinity and listen in on them. You can hear them through your receiver, and it just looks like you are talking on your cell phone, just like the people you are eavesdropping on may be using a cell phone. Some of these types of phones can also be used as regular cell phones.
Finally, the most high tech cell spy phone (as well as the most expensive) is one that acts as real phone but allows access to both ends of the conversation or even acts as a listening device to pick up conversation in the room. This is not a phone that you use yourself and listen to people; it is one that others use. A secret number allows you dial in to the phone and have access to everything that is going on around that phone, whether it is both ends of a cell phone conversation, or whether it is listening in on what is taking place at a clandestine meeting.

No matter your needs, one of the most inconspicuous ways to find out what you want to know is to use a cell spy phone.

Author: Kingston Amadan

BlackBerry Connect comes to Palm

2005-12-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

Palm and Research In Motion have announced a joint venture that will see the integration of BlackBerry Connect on Palms Treo 650 device and future models by spring 2006. BlackBerry Connect for the Treo 650 will allow BlackBerry Enterprise Servers running on both Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino email servers to push email and PIM data to Treo smartphones.

The BlackBerry architecture and infrastructure are recognized around the world as secure, manageable, reliable and scalable, and we are extremely pleased to broaden the choice of BlackBerry-enabled handsets with the Treo 650, said Jim Balsillie, chairman and co-CEO at RIM.

This week has already seen the announcement of BlackBerry Connect on three new Nokia models branded the E-Series due out early next year, so its no surprise to see RIM spreading their wings to other key handset manufacturers, especially those who, like Palm, are primarily focused on business users and mobile workers.

Author: Adam Phones Ltd

Nokia E-Series to support BlackBerry Connect

2005-12-10T21:51:00.000-08:00

Nokia has announced three new handsets to form part of its business portfolio (E60, E61 and E70). At present these devices are expected to run Symbian v9.1 with the 3rd edition of Series 60 platform. BlackBerry Connect, WLAN connectivity and 3G (a welcome addition to those who require web browsing at impressive speeds) will also be incorporated.

"RIM is working closely with Nokia to provide support for BlackBerry services on the new Nokia E-series in order to provide carriers and customers with a broader choice of handsets while maintaining the many advantages of the BlackBerry architecture and infrastructure," said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at RIM.

BlackBerry users especially will be looking at the E61, as visually it carries a very similar form factor to the traditional BlackBerry shape including the full QWERTY keypad. Launch dates for the three new models is expected around Q1 2006. Final specifications will be confirmed as we receive them.

Author: Adam Phones Ltd

Going on Vacation? Stay in Touch with Prepaid Cellular

2005-12-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

When budgeting for that big vacation, you'll no doubt sit down with a calculator and figure out the cost of airfare, car rental, hotel, restaurants, and tourist attractions. But one cost that is often overlooked is long distance calling. While on vacation, you'll often need to make long distance calls back home. You may need to check up on teenagers--or place a call to the neighbors to make sure that no wild parties are taking place. You may need to check in with the office periodically. Or, you might just want to call your friends from time to time, especially if they are back home where there's a foot of snow on the ground and you're in Hawaii.

Those long distance calls can take a big bite out of your vacation budget. Hotels and motels will typically allow long distance calls to be made from your room, but what most people don't know is that the rates you will be charged when you check out are often very high. The hotel will usually add on a surcharge to the regular phone rate, and this surcharge can be substantial. You may wind up paying several dollars for a phone call that would otherwise cost you ten or twenty cents. And what's worse about hotel phones is that you may even know ahead of time how much you are going to be charged, and you'll get a nasty surprise when you check out.

The perfect solution is prepaid cellular. Even if you don't normally use a cell phone, a prepaid phone can be an excellent short-term solution for vacations and other trips, giving you an opportunity to know precisely how much your calls are costing you, and regulate how much is being spent.

Even if you will be traveling in a foreign country, this is still often an option. Using pay phones or hotel phones in a foreign country can be confusing, and even costlier than domestic hotel phones. When you reach your destination, check into whether temporary cell phone service is available. In some countries, you can even rent a cell phone right at the airport, use it while you are there, and then drop it back off when you fly back home.

Some domestic cell phone plans do have international features, although this will not be available in all countries, so check with your carrier ahead of time to see if you will be able to keep your regular cell phone when you go overseas. If they do offer this service, find out how much it will cost. Your normal domestic rates will not apply, and it may even be cheaper to leave your regular cell phone at home and rent one while you're overseas.

Author: Tom Spelling

AT&T Wireless Has Joined Forces With Cingular

2005-12-10T21:43:00.000-08:00

In cars, offices, restaurants, shopping malls and everywhere else in the country, cellular phone ownership is becoming the rule, not the exception. Everybody has one, it seems -- and many of them are using ATT Wireless.

ATT Wireless had a steady, successful business on its own, and then joined with Cingular in 2004 to become even more powerful. Customers with AT&T Wireless phones found that their plans got even better: Cingular offers rollover minutes, meaning if you dont use all your AT&T Wireless phone minutes one month, they carry over into the next month.

Also, when Cingular and AT and T Wireless combined, it combined their coverage areas, too. Between them, nearly the entire country is covered by Cingular or AT&T Wireless mobile service. (AT&T Wireless plans ought to be good: The company has been in the telephone business for more than 120 years!)

What kind of plans does ATT Wireless offer? There are individual plans and family plans, each designed to match your particular AT and T Wireless phone needs. One popular option is FamilyTalk, where all the members on the plan can talk to each other for free. Say you, your spouse, and your child all have AT T Wireless phones. Now you can call each other as often as you like without using up your minutes. (And those leftover minutes roll over into the next month, too!)

Text messaging has become very common, too, particularly among teenagers. ATT Wireless offers many plans that include text messaging, often with rates as low as 1 cent per message. Text messaging is especially useful when you want privacy, or when talking on your ATT Wireless mobile phone is not feasible.

What if you already have a cell phone through another provider and want to switch, but dont want to change your phone number? Luckily, its now possible in most cases to bring your old cell phone number with you when you join ATT Wireless. For years, cell phone providers owned certain numbers, but no more. The courts put an end to that practice in 2003, and now customers can usually switch from one service to another without having to get a new phone number. This keeps competition high, because companies no longer own their customers phone numbers and thus could lose them to other providers.

ATT Wireless and Cingular work hard to ensure their customers satisfaction so they wont move to a different company. And when people are fed up with other plans, they can come to AT&T and Cingular to see what they have to offer.

Dont have a cell phone yet? Youre not alone, though the number is decreasing. AT&T Wireless and Cingular can walk you through the process if youre unsure what kind of plan and phone you need. Theres no time like the present to become part of the future!

Author: Christopher M. Luck

Be An Effective Mobile Phone Spy

2005-12-10T21:41:00.000-08:00

There are many ways to listen for important information that you can use in the future. Because most people own mobile phones, and because they are on the rise as a primary phone, it can be worth your while to learn to be a mobile phone spy. Private investigators and bounty hunters can use the techniques of a mobile phone spy in order to learn information for their clients and gather evidence. People can be quite unguarded while speaking on a cell phone; it can be the perfect way to hone your spying skills.

The effective mobile phone spy has the right equipment. Luckily, it is usually easier to get the right spy equipment in the cell phone department than it is in many other ways. Additionally, cell phone spy equipment is often less expensive than other equipment. If you are just getting your PI or bounty hunter business off the ground, starting out with some good cell phone bugging devices is a good way to start. It will help you get your feet wet and prove to clients that you have good equipment.

Another thing needed is to ensure that you do not miss important phone calls. For many a mobile phone spy, this ties right into having the right equipment. There are two different cell phone bugs that call you when a phone call is made. The Spy Matrix Cell Phone will give you a rig whenever a call is made, allowing you to listen in on the conversation without constantly checking to see if a call is being made. Likewise, basic cell phone bugs that share with the home phone can also call you whenever the phone line becomes active. This allows you to do more than one thing while waiting for the call.

Finally, the effective mobile phone spy has a means of recording the conversations she or he hears. This can be recording equipment attached to your end of the device, or it can be transmitted to a recording assembly (if you are using a phone that picks up signals near someone using a cell phone). It is always good to have the conversations available as evidence when you are a mobile phone spy.

Author: Kingston Amadan

Cell Phone Listening Devices Keep Tabs on Teens

2005-12-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

Nearly every high school student, and even many junior high students, has a cell phones. This makes it very easy for you to keep tabs on your teenagers with cell phone listening devices. Because they are interested in have phones that allow them to call their friends, you will be the hero when you give them a cell phone. And because you want to keep tabs and make sure that they are not engaging in destructive behavior, you can make use of these cell phone listening devices to keep track of where they are and what they are doing.

The great thing about todays cell phone listening devices is that they do more than just let you listen to conversations over the cell phone. They also let you hear what is going on in the room, and they come equipped with GPS trackers. These are great because you know where your teenager is, as well as what she or he is doing.

Car tracking devices merely let you know where your car is. There is no way of knowing whether or not your teen is in the car. When you make use of cell phone listening devices with GPS tracking capability, you can know where your teen is. The phone is something he or she will keep on the person. The car can be parked where it should be, and then someone else can give a ride to someplace forbidden. A cell phone bug is a more complete device.

In addition to showing location, cell phone listening devices also let you listen in. The most advanced device works just like a regular cell phone. Your teen will get incoming calls, have a phone book, make calls, and even sometimes have a camera on the phone. The only difference is that you have the power to listen in. You dial a secret secondary number that gives you access to the phone. You can hear the conversation over the phone (and record it) or you can activate the microphone on the phone that picks up the sounds in the room.

You can always know exactly what is going on with your teens you make use of cell phone listening devices.

Author: Kingston Amadan

Nokia Themes: Celebrate in Style

2005-12-10T21:32:00.000-08:00

Whether you're celebrating a holiday or a birthday, an anniversary or graduation, or you just want to express yourself, a Nokia theme can be the way to do it. With new bright colored screens and great polyphonic theme music, your Nokia phone can have the theme to put you in the mood or make your season brighter. Or you can use a Nokia theme for someone else to put them in the mood.

A Nokia theme is more than just a ring tone. It's also a wallpaper and screensaver that are designed to work with your ring tone choices, and that you can switch around to suit yourself as the seasons change, or as you do.

What can you do with a Nokia theme?

1. Send it to someone you love. Instead of buying the traditional Mothers Day or Fathers Day card, a Nokia theme letting your mum or dad know how special they are to you is a great way of letting them know you remember them. Or you can send an anniversary theme to your wife or boyfriend, birthday themes to that special someone, or a rock theme or other personalized Nokia theme to someone as a special occasion gift or just because.

2. Celebrate the season. Sometimes we all have a little trouble getting into the holiday spirit. Having a Christmas song in your Nokia theme can make a difference; or a Valentine's theme can be great in February, both to keep you in that romantic mood and to remind your significant other that the Big Day is on its way. Or maybe you're just one of those people who likes to decorate everything for your favorite holiday. Either way, a Nokia theme for the season can be a great idea.

3. Brag a little. Did you just graduate, or did you just land that great new job? Maybe you just had a new baby, or your girl just agreed to marry you. You might be able to find a Nokia theme that's perfect to express your pride about your new accomplishment, status, or addition.

4. Express yourself. With Nokia themes based around the Bible, around rock and roll, odd aliens, and technology, you can express your preferences and a part of your personality with your Nokia phone. Think of it as a modern way to wear a button to let people know who you are or as an electronic bumper sticker.

5. Have some fun. With Nokia themes for just about everything, you can download themes to your phone that are just fun. How about a theme focused around aliens and rock? Or sports? Or the beach? Or maybe your favorite celebrity. Maybe you like surrealist art, or computer generated art. Whatever you prefer, you'll find a Nokia theme that will work for you.

No matter what you're looking for in a Nokia theme, you'll be able to find it here. Fun-loving or serious minded, avant-garde or conservative, you can find the things youre passionate about in your Nokia themes.

Author: Philip Nicosia

The Future Of Mobile Phone Technology

2005-12-10T21:30:00.000-08:00

The past, present, and future of cell phones

Just in the last few years cell phones (usually called mobile phones outside the US) have become de facto standards for most of the population. What once used to be a luxury item for a select few that was carried around in a large leather bag and was the size of the brick, is no longer.

Technology has advanced the mobile phone industry to the point where the phone is a mere commodity for vendors, meaning that's not where they make the real money. It's in the service plans, which require 2 year commitments usually, where companies like Sprint, Nextel (now Sprint Nextel), AT&T (now Cingular), Cingular, Verizon, and T-Mobile make the revenues that enable the cycle of technology innovation and marketing to continue.

While the downsides of cell phones have focused primarily on the annoyance of public conversations and the small possibility of brain damage due to cellular coverage near the ear, these pale in comparison to the benefits derived from cellular technology. For those who have had cell phones most of their lives (think anyone under 25), it's hard to imagine life before cell phones. Writing down numbers in a paper directory, having change on hand (first a nickel, then a dime, then two dimes), knowing how to make collect calls, and finding pay phones in new cities were frequent logistic challenges. Not to mention the inconvenience of not being able to get access to those you need at any time.

At this point, corporate employees, sales professionals, parents, young adults, and anyone in industries where communication among many is critical could hardly imagine life without the benefits of mobile phones.

As technology matures, ringtones, cameras, GPS features, music, and multiple other features will be added to the hardware. And the software on phones will progress to include easier web access, advertisements, news downloads, and easier chat and email features - becoming the only piece of technology most use. In fact, in many countries in South Asia (where the industrial revolution never occurred) they have gone from agricultural industries right to technology, bypassing an entire type of economy. It is in these countries where the cell phone is an essential tool, enabling communication among millions who don't own a computer.

As technology advances, and people respond positively to resulting changes, we will all benefit.

Author: Dave Lloyd

Back to School Responsibilities Again

2005-12-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year when mom and dad look for ways to improve their childs academic standing during the upcoming scholastic year or, at least, they should be.

There are many options to weigh in such as: new school clothes, school supplies, peer pressure, after school care, homework, league sports, and transportation.

This is time of year for great changes, but here are two changes that will impact your child for life and require a bit of work and commitment on your part.

Expose your child or children to some kind of faith: The faith of your parents, your faith, your spouses faith, or the faith that you left behind. Set an example and start attending a temple, mosque, shrine, or church right now.

If your children have nothing to believe in, will they have a happy, productive, and successful life? You already know the answer to the question, and it requires work to teach children. Anybody can let years go by, and teach their children nothing.

Find a hobby that suits your child and have them stick to it. Oh no, more work! Yes, it is, but your child will benefit immensely from this decision.

It could be dance, Yoga, martial arts, music, gymnastics, boy scouts, girl scouts, or something else, but whatever it is, your child should initially like it. At that point have them make a commitment and dont allow them to quit unless there is a solid reason.

If a coach, teacher, or tutor is abusive, thats an understandable reason to leave, but you can always find another coach. In truth, if you allow laziness, in your child, you will receive it. Children will usually follow the path of least resistance, but they crave structure.

My experience has been: Children constantly turn their attitudes around, for the better, in martial arts and Yoga classes. Due to the fact, that there is a formal set of existing rules and a code of conduct.

Dont allow them to sit in a corner with a video game and a television, except for rare occasions. There are too many good things going on in the real world that need their attention.

These two changes will instill fortitude, perseverance, and goal-setting skills that last a lifetime. The rewards can be endless, for your whole family.

Auhor: Paul M. Jerard Jr.

MindBlow and Mind Below

2005-12-10T21:24:00.000-08:00

MindBlow and Mind Below

Human mind is numberless wonder of whole universe. This is the most fertile field of world. More you sow much you reap out of it.
The usage of this part of human body needs accurate and precise approach. The tool to sharpen the upper part of human body is only through education. The education can change the life of human being. This had been proven by scientific development of our world. Thus in most advanced and developed society, every possible care is taken in education sector applications.
Are we in India caring for this vital aspect of human being? This story is a little effort to discuss the national education with special reference to one of the leading and progressive state named Haryana.
According to 2001 census the population of largest democracy of the world was 1027015247. The managing of this huge population is a specialized job. To do this it required extra accuracy and farsightedness approach. Education is among first thrust, which need to be carefully managed, because it is directly linked to development of nation.
In 2002 India had 199144199 students starting from class 1 to higher education level. It means 19.3% of population was of student community.
Government and NGO's are working hard to expand the area of education in the country, but their efforts are not yielding up to mark satisfaction.
In India in 2002 there were 113883060 students in primary school level. In middle school level numbers of students were 44828235. That means 69% of primary school students' left their studies before or after fifth class. The facts and figures are similar in every year.
In same year (2002) there were 44828235 it mans 55% of student in middle school level whereas the number of high school students 20053986 who gave up their school bags after eight class. Continue to this process 48% of students left their studies from high school level to secondary level.
But here in last I am very surprised to see that after 10+2 level study gives up cases has drastically come down to 5%. This statistics clearly indicate that if student reaches primary level his or her probability of leaving school is 61%. If students cross first barrier (primary level) and reach to middle school then his percentage of leaving come down to 55%. Further after 10th standard to secondary levels this percentage further come down to 48%. Finally if he / she get passed 10+2 exam, the percentage to achieve higher education / professional education is 95%, which is very high as comparative to primary and middle level. These facts and figures clearly indicate that primary to middle classes are studies leaving prone classes.
Are these studies leaving the prone classes targeted by our education planners? . Answer is clearly no. This is very evident from following statistics.
In primary school level student / teacher ratio in India is 59:1, for middle class it was 31:1, whereas in 10+2 level it was 17:1 in 2002.In comparison to above after 10+2 level education there are 272 universities, 8737 colleges (general), 838 technology/ engineering college, 725 medical college, 846 teacher training colleges, 5462 polytechnic and it is and 1175 teacher training schools. This type planning will show its effects on society because knowledge level of population will be of high contrast. This will lead to fragmentation of that society which is already fragmented in the name of religion, caste and creeds. In this situation, the Education will work reversibly. This can be averted by making middle level focused education policy.
So emphasis of our education policy should be on study leaving prone classes.i.e.5th to 8th classes. The environment and education should be planned in such manner that student of these classes does not leave their studies in want of school are money. If the quantum of the students increases in 10+2 level then there will be more and more talents available for higher studies. This will not only enhance the level of knowledge among all sections of society in equilibrium but also give up maximum opportunities to maximum. This will show results in quality of higher study level. In which 50% of education budgets are invested. Take the case of Haryana in education. This small state has done commendable work as compare to other states of India. But due to non-practical approach of education planning, as in national education policy results are not up to the mark. Student teacher ratio in primary level was 39:1 as compare to national student teacher ratio 59:1 in 2002.
For middle classes this ratio in state was 33:1 in contrast to national average 31:1. Here one point is to mention this state was created on 1st nov.1966. The above student teacher ratio for the corresponding year was 43:1 and 30:1 for primary and middle classes respectively. Education budget at the creation of state in 1966 was merely 277.2 Lac rupees. Which reached 138429.51 Lac was invested which was 55.7% of total money allocated to education.
Thus after this statistics of one of the pioneer states of India one can guess situations in UP, Bihar, Orrisa and rest of other states of country.
To make mind blowing and not blowing quantum of the student is directly linked to excellence in education. Money and personals are here only precise planning is required.
Will our education planners ever do this and when? Answer to these questions lies in dark room. Who will open the doors of this dark room is to be seen yet.

Dinesh Singh Rawat
E-mail:drawat@abcnewsnetwork.com

Make a place for computers in children's world

2005-12-10T21:22:00.000-08:00

Computers have become an important part of our everyday lives and will be even more in the future. Knowledge about computers might become as important to elementary school children as reading and writing.

There has been a lot of debate whether computers should be used with younger children. Some educators doubt the value of modern technology with younger kids. But some researchers have found lot of positive learning benefits with the use of computers in younger kids, especially when an adult supervisor is involved. Positive impact has also been found on children with disabilities or special needs. It has been said that Technology can change the way children think and learn.

Children are great thinkers. Their rapidly growing brains are assimilating a lot of knowledge from their surroundings. Lot of data is analyzed and stored in the memory cells. Positive play experiences, visual and auditory stimuli give a big boost to this process.

For example; I was pleasantly surprised one day when I saw my 2and half year old twin girls playing with their toy fishes. They were holding a couple of dolphins, making jumping movements with their hands and dolphin sounds with their mouth at the same time. They were pretending that the dolphins are playing in the water. Then they picked up a whale which started talking to the dolphins. They made whale sounds with some clicks and tweets. Being a mother I was fascinated and of course very proud. I learned later that they were looking at the Encyclopedia with their dad, on the earlier day and had repeatedly watched the sound clips and little video clips.

Explore, create and learn while having fun. That is a childs life. Playing is a lot more to children then just having fun. As children play, they learn about themselves and their surrounding environment. They learn social skills, learn to solve problems and also develop their motor skills. Playing enhances their creativity and imagination.

These days wonderful computer based educational games and activities are available in the market for children. There are excellent websites on the internet, which provide information and educational games for children. Parents and caregivers should find play activities fit for their children. They should be challenging, but not frustrating or overwhelming. Parents are their childs first playmates. Children enjoy a game lot more when a parent or family member is involved in the play.

Should children surf on the internet? It is information super-highway. It has its own benefits and risks. Children using internet without supervision is a risk, but with a knowledgeable and responsible adult it could bring lot of benefits. It is just like driving a car and riding a car. Children can safely ride and enjoy the information super highway while a responsible adult is in the drivers seat.

Of course there should be a limit on how much time children can spend on the computer. As a general guideline the rules can be similar to those used for viewing TV. Anything done in excess can be harmful. Consumption of too many vitamin tablets in a day can also be harmful.

Dr.Kanchan Bodas
Editor
www.springboardmagazine.com

Author: kbodas

Teaching reading to your child

2005-12-10T21:21:00.000-08:00

One of the most effective teaching methods for children is to use materials that the child has a natural interest in. Teaching reading to your child is no exception. Our kids (as Im sure most kids) have a natural interest in animals. Right from the beginning we had great success using their natural curiosity and affection for animals to teach the basic formations and sounds that are associated with the letters and pictures. This naturally progressed into using the same to aid in teaching reading to them as well.

There are several childrens magazines available for you that are dedicated to the animal child connection. As our kids got a bit older we even subscribed to a couple of the magazines for them. You talk about generating an interest! Just wait till the kids realize that every so often the mailman brings them a present. They couldnt wait and it certainly helped us with teaching reading to both of the kids. If your kids, are struggling to read or maybe struggling to get interested in reading, use a tool that they are naturally interested in. For us, the animal stories and magazines were a great way for us to get started teaching reading.

Find a magazine that seems to fit the age level of your child. For younger children, I recommend one that has big bright colorful pictures with interesting facts. One of our favorite childrens magazines is Zoobooks. Some even have interactive puzzles and games the child can play and learn. A simple search on the internet of children + animals + magazine will turn up many choices for you.

Teaching reading to your child is 100 times easier when you employ the use of a subject that children naturally want to know more about. In fact, one thing that we discovered was that once the one of the magazines had been used and was no longer current, they made great tools for the kids to cut some of the pictures out and make bulletin boards, calendars, and it made a great start in getting to the next level of reading by learning to make up their own stories and adventures using the pictures they cut out and the information from the magazines!

Whatever you choice of tools you are considering using to teach reading to your child, I highly recommend the use of some good childrens magazines.

Author: Mary Joyce

My right: Universal elementary education

2005-12-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

My right: Universal elementary education
A plight on Indian universal elementary education system

The god has created this wonderful universe. In this universe he/she has sent human to live. In human he/she has inserted an organ named brain. The brain generates ideas, these come from knowledge and finally knowledge can be gather only and only by education. Thus education is a basic fundamental need of human to live natural life.
In future, India is going to be largest population hub of world. Are we providing our new born brains that knowledge which they deserve? My Right deals with this aspect of futures India. Right to education has become fundamental right in Indian statues books in 2002, as once Indian parliament had given its approval to 86th constitutional amendment in 2002 under article 21A of constitution. According to this every Indian child 6-14 year of age has fundamental right to free and compulsory education. Additional to this government of India has introduced a bill called Right to education bill 2005, which deal with early age child care and education for all children until they acquired the age of six. It also says that, it is the fundamental duty of every Indian parent to provide equal opportunities to his/her children of age of 6-14years to get education.
Please look into this for my sake.
Population
(6-14years) 226204139
Below poverty line
Population(6-14 years) 56573568
(25%)
Total of students
(primary) 149400000
Number of schools
(primary) 664041
Number of teachers
(primary) 2900000
Teacher/students ratio 40/teacher
Children not able to attend
the school (primary) 76804139
(33.9%)
%of girls out of school 39%
Expenditure on education 4.02% GDP
Source: census 2001&: UNICEF statistical year book

What are the reasons behind this all?
1. 25% of Indian population still live below poverty line means 2. The low adoption of modern education system by Muslims.
India is a multi religions nation.
a) % of religion based population
b) %of illiteracy among 6-14year
Above facts clearly tell the whole tale itself. 30.8% of my Muslim friends are remaining illiterate in target age for universal elementary education campaign (6-14 year). This is highest among all religious population in India. It is largely because, Muslims prefer theirs religious education over modern education.
3. Gender bias ness.
The Indian society is fully male dominant. The gender equation always tilts towards male section of society, decline sex ratio; numbers of women in different parts of society to government position is clear cut message of bias ness towards women in my part of world. This is also a hurdle in making my school/class fully humane. (Where every child of age 6-14 year can attend it
without any consideration of caste, creed, religion and gender).Please go through it. After making every girl child into school/class room, then and only than we can see education for all in real sense.

primary school
enrollment rate Primary completion
rates Youth illiteracy Rate (% of people aged 15-24)
Male
91
85
20.3
Female
76
69
35.2
Source: world Bank
4. Urban based education system.
Education system of India is urban centric, Every financial capable Indian parent want to send theirs kids to these urban schooling, so big gap has been created in favors of urban because all good schools, educational institutions and universities are based in urban areas.
Who is caring for me?
The education in India is subject of all and none to responsibility. As per Indian constitution education fall in concurrent list, which mean federal and state governments has its say on this all important subject of human development. Following are my care takers.
1. Federal government.
2. State government.
3. International agencies (united nations)
4. Private sectors.
What are being done for my sake?
1. Sarv shiksha abhiyan(Indian universal elementary education campaign)
2. Mid day meal programme(food for education launched in 1995 and revised in 2004)
3. District Primary Education Programme (launched in November, 1994 to overhauling the primary education system in India)
4. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (Setting up unto 750 residential schools with boarding facilities at elementary level for girls belonging predominantly to the SC, ST, OBC and minorities in difficult areas.)
5. Programme of Mobilizing Local Support to Primary Schools (PLUS)(launched in 2004 to get additional local resources by local support.)
6. 86th constitutional amendment in 2002 under article 21A of constitution. (every Indian child 6-14year of age has fundamental right to free and compulsory education)
7. Right to education bill 2005. (Early age child care and education for all children until they acquired the age of six.)
What I require?
As above stated programmes and schemes are being run by different federal and state governments agencies for me but still I am not able to reach school yet. So to get me enroll in school, I require following.
1. One teacher for 15 students

Students/teacher ratio Source: UNESCO
Above pictorial facts show that developed nations has always less Students/teacher ratio as compare to developing side, but some developing nations has achieved shoulder to shoulder with developed ones like China, Iraq etc. As identical to China, I require one teacher for 19 students of my class.
2. One School in one kilometer radius.
India has 2973190sq.km Land area. AS one school with in one kilo meter radius need approximately 2000000 primary schools, where as only 664041 schools are for me. This clearly means 1335959 more schools I require to get my education near to my home.
3. Free education for all
As per 86th constitutional amendment has ensured me free and compulsory education (6-14year age). But in practical rural India and some urban, it is too implemented in true sprit.
4. Common education system across India.
As in India education is subject for all but responsibility of none, because there is not a uniform education system in nation. This has made me more vulnerable when I have to move around nation in my 6-14 years child hood. So I need a common education system across the nation to make me easy at every part of country as same.
5. Education in my mother tongue
Language is the first barrier which a child has to face in his/her school entrance in India. If it is removed than I may really not fear to attend my school as I do now. Which in latter becomes substantial reason of my drop out from schools.
Where lay my future?
My future is lying in your hands. The world fraternity has pledged in April 2000 at Dakar (Senegal), education for all unto 2015 A.D. Where as my Indian education planners has set 2010A.D for me to be in school/class room. Last not the least is my humble request to all who are concerned with this mission education for all that kindly look into above plight, so that my right for universal elementary education will be available to my every brethren and sisters at the time of theirs birth.
Plighted by
An Indian child of 1967
E- mail:drawat@abcnewsnetwork.com

Author: Dinesh singh

Pilgrim Trivia Teaching Tips

2005-12-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

How much do you know about the Mayflower, Pilgrims, and Wampanoag Indians? Here are some interesting facts about them.

Before the Pilgrims hired her, the Mayflower was in the wine trade with France; before that, she was in the fish trade with Norway.

It took the Mayflower 66 days to reach Massachusetts.

There was one baby born during the crossing of the Mayflower and he was named Oceanus Hopkins.

The Pilgrims landed at Provincetown, MA, at the tip of Cape Cod, on November 11, 1620. Since the land was not good for farming, they moved to Plymouth.

To eat, the Pilgrims used a knife, spoon, a large napkin, and fingers...no forks. They also shared plates and drinking vessels.

In the Pilgrim household, the adults sat down to dinner and the children waited on them.

Lobsters, clams, and mussels were considered "hard rations" when the food supply was low. Many Pilgrims thought that lobsters were fit only for pigs!

The turkey was familiar poultry in England. It was brought to Europe 100 years earlier by the Spanish.

There were only four married women who survived the first harsh winter from 1620-1621. They supervised the food preparations for the three-day harvest feast for the 50 colonists, Chief Massasoit, and the 90 Indians who attended. That event became known as "the first Thanksgiving."

Pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce were not eaten at the first Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims did eat roast wild fowl such as duck, goose, and turkey; corn meal; cod; sea bass; and venison brought by the Indians.

Massasoit in the Wampanoag language means "Great Leader." His real name was Ousamequin or "Yellow Feather."

The Wampanoag Indians of southeast Massachusetts were the people who befriended the Pilgrims. Their name means "People of the Dawn" and they continue to live on Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and inland.

With the severe weather the world has been experiencing, now is a good time to reflect on all the positives in your life. Write them down to keep as a reference when times are rough! Sometimes, seeing them in print is an eye-opener; you might be surprised how long that list can get if you add all the little things. HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone!

I hope these ideas have been useful and have inspired your own creative thinking.

And remember...Reading is FUNdamental!

Author: Freda J. Glatt, MS

United Nations Day Teaching Tips

2005-12-10T21:12:00.000-08:00

The United Nations, an international organization dedicated to keeping peace among the world's nations, was created on October 24, 1945. This month, then, would be an excellent time to focus on how to settle disagreements and learn something about the U.N. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Read this excerpt of the U.N. Charter and discuss what it means:

We the peoples of the United Nations determine...to live together in peace with one another as good neighbors, to work for the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to promote better standards of life.

2. Try making your own criss-cross puzzle from the underlined words in the excerpt above.

3. Relate the word 'equal' to the definition learned in math.

4. Research to find the member nations of the United Nations and write them down. Once they are written, put them in alphabetical order; count the syllables in the names; find them in an atlas and make note of their geographic location (which continent has the most members? the least members?); make tally marks representing each country and practice counting by 5's and 10's. Which nations were charter members? Which countries were added later? Find out more about each country by breaking your class into groups.

5. Unscramble the names of these member countries:

DESWEN, LAPNOD, GARTENANI, SUITARALA, DIANI, GEPTY, TRAGE TRABINI, NADACA, HACNI, TENUDI TASSET

Now put these letters, from the countries above, in sequential order to form two words telling what the United Nations is working toward:

CROWLEAPED

6. Here are two realistic situations. Ask your children how they would solve these predicaments in order to make peace. Is there another way to achieve a win-win outcome?

A. Barbara, Cindy, and Judy have always been best friends. Lately, though, Cindy and Judy have been excluding Barbara from their playtime fun. Consequently, Barbara has decided to turn the rest of the class against them. Which way would achieve peace? Brainstorm other ideas!

a. Talk to the three girls privately to determine why Barbara is being ignored.

b. Punish all three girls by not allowing them to play.

c. Start a class discussion about what it means to be a friend.

B. William and Jose were close pals because they liked doing the same things, going to the same places, and going out with the same friends. When it was time for their first school dance, however, they both wanted to ask the same girl. Having found out that Jose had asked Maria first, William wouldn't talk to Jose at all. Which way would achieve peace? Brainstorm other ideas!

a. Suggest that neither boy take Maria to the dance.

b. Suggest that William, Jose, and Maria all go together as friends.

c. Suggest that William tell Jose how he feels and see what Jose says.

I hope these ideas are useful and inspire your own creativity.

And remember...Reading is FUNdamental!

Author: Freda J. Glatt, MS

Test taking stratagies

2005-12-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

These twelve tips will help you get through any test and as long as you prepared adequately for it, you will certainly get an A.

Come to the test prepared and feeling confident that you know the material. Make sure that you are not very hungry or very full and that you are well-rested. Avoid eating sugary or processed foods before the test. Avoid items such as candy, carbonated soft drinks, junk foods, and fried foods. Snack on fresh fruit or veggies immediately before to get your mind off the test and give you some sustenance.

Breathe. Relax. Imagine yourself acing the test. It is amazing what a little positive imagery can do for you.

Read ALL of the directions carefully. Reread them again once you have finished. Look through the test to see what types of questions are asked, how many questions, if there are any major essays, if you have choices about questions that you can answer, etc. Make sure you know how much each section is worth so you can budget your time.

If the test involves specific equations, conversions, dates or anything else that you must memorize, write it on the top or margin of the test paper as soon as the test is handed out. Remembering complicated equations and dates before you have answered any questions is a lot easier than trying to remember them after you have answered half of the test questions and you brain is starting to get tired.

Answer all easy questions first. This will help you get into the test taking mood and build confidence. Circle the numbers of the questions that you really have no idea about. You can come back to these later. Often times questions you answer later in the test might trigger something and help you answer a question that you were previously stuck on.

Narrow multiple choice answers down to the two you believe might be correct by crossing off the ones you positively know are not correct. This will improve your chances of guessing the right one.

True-False questions are often a favorite of some teachers and can be quite complicated at times. Keep in mind that every part of a true-false statement must be true in order to answer it as true. If any part is false, mark the entire statement false. You may want to underline the portion of the statement that you believe is false. If there are negatives in the statement such as no or not, and you are still not sure whether to mark it true or false, try re-reading the question without the no or not. Decide if this statement is true or false then answer the opposite on your test. Words indicating absoluteness (never, always, entirely, every, only, none) often tend to be used in false statements.

Try to construct concise answers that target the question and prove to the teacher that you know the material. Get right to the point in the first sentence or two of your answer. The rest of the answer should contain proof that you know what you are talking about. Give enough evidence to support your thoughts but don't over-answer the question. Writing a lot of fluff will usually leave the teacher thinking that you are writing for the sake of filling the space and that you really don't have a good handle on the correct answer.

Before you begin writing an essay, make sure you know exactly what the question is asking. Try to restate the question in your own words. If you can't do this with confidence, make a quick visit to the teacher and have him or her clarify it for you. Once confident in what the question is asking, take a few moments to get your thoughts together and write some notes in the margin or even create an outline on scrap paper if you have time.

If you find that you are running short on time and still have some open-ended questions left to answer, write something rather than leaving the space blank. Create a brief outline to show the teacher that you do know the answer, but you didn't have enough time to write an entire essay. You maybe able to get say more in an outline form than you can if you were only able to write a few opening sentences of your essay. Partial credit is better than no credit at all.

Once you believe you are finished with the test, reread everything again to be sure that you answered every question fully and completely. If you have time, cover up your answers with your hand or another sheet of paper and ask yourself what answer you would give if you had to answer the question again. Compare this answer with what you have already written down. Only change the original answer if you find that you made a silly mistake or originally misinterpreted the question. It is usually best to go with your original instinct when you are truly unsure of an answer.

Be neat. The last thing a teacher wants to do while correcting mounds of tests is to spend time deciphering what a student has illegibly written.

Go to http://www.live-etutor.com for to learn more about online tutoring and schedule a tutoring session for your child. All tutors are screened and qualified.

Author: Scottp

Unemployment Blues: Are We Pre-Programmed To Be Productive?

2005-12-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

Toiling away at our daily grind, we dream of running away to Hawaii or the South Pacific where we can lie on the beach and do absolutely nothing.

Some of us are lucky enough to take a vacation there and temporarily cut ourselves off from the world of responsibilities and demands and worries. We breathe easier, sleep deeper, eat more heartily. It is truly paradise.

It's wonderful because we have a life waiting to be reclaimed when we step off the plane. Our job is waiting for us and we go back to work with renewed energy and zest from our long overdue break.

It is like the first few days of unemployment, that honeymoon period when we find ourselves with extra time on our hands and no reason to get up early or fight the rush hour traffic. But honeymoons are not designed to last forever and it is only when they are over, that reality and the hard work of building a marriage starts.

The obvious stressors of unemployment are widely recognized: financial strains, the drudgery and frequent humiliation of job search, the family disruption, the loss of self-confidence and self-esteem. While none of these can be lightly dismissed, we are going to concentrate for a moment on an area that is often overlooked. It can cause inner turmoil, pain, significantly increase the emotional fallout of layoff, and exacerbate the depression, anxiety, and negative self-view that so often follow.

To feel productive seems to be an inherent human need. We feel good about ourselves when we are contributing -- to our own independence, to our family, to our community. Many of the great discoveries, inventions, and explorations of history were made by individuals born to family wealth who had no need to ever lift a finger to ensure adequate self-support. Yet these individuals wanted to contribute to the world in some way and left their homes, worked through the night, and even died trying to be part of some enterprise.

Those who sat back on their laurels, and never found any venture to engage them, lead empty lives, drifting through their days without personal value or commitment. Today we see their empty faces in the society pages and read the tabloids to hear about their drug problems and their tawdry efforts to find excitement and meaning.

Those of us - most of us - who have no choice but to work, dream of having enough money to have a choice. Few of us really want to drift around the world without goals or ambition. We simply want to do something meaningful to us rather than the career we fell into which has long since lost its charm and excitement.

It is when that career, boring and humdrum though it may be, is suddenly taken away, that we realize how much of ourselves is invested in the role we have worn for so long. Our belief in our own value is tied up and interdependent with our productivity. We feel a vital part of our marital partnership, someone our children respect and follow, an important person in our community who has earned the right to voice an opinion or vote for a principle. We bear ourselves with a certain pride in that we are bonafide members of the working class and clearly differentiate ourselves from those who fail to contribute: the welfare class, the criminals, the idle rich, the various parasites who dot the fringes of our society.

When we lose our job, the lines start to blur. Our sense of personal importance starts slowly to fracture. We see the reflection of ourselves in the eyes of our friends and family start to change. While we concentrate on finding other work and jumping through the multiple hoops required by any job search campaign, we also withdraw more and more into ourselves, seeking to escape the new image of ourselves emerging in the minds of those around us.

As a vocational counselor, I heard a repeated litany of concerns from spouses and family: "Since this happened, she's totally changed . . . He's not the man I knew . . . I don't know who she is anymore . . . he won't talk to me about what's bothering him . . . I want my husband back. I don't care if he's working or not . . ."

Have you, or someone you love, fallen into this trap?

Address the problem now, before a situation not of your choice and for which you bear no blame, mushrooms into the too frequent personal devastation of the unemployed - broken marriages, family dispersion, substance abuse, shattered lives.

The discomfort and emotional pain of losing your job also provides an opportunity to cement bonds and build strength if you take action to address problems head on. Above all, communication must not lapse. In fact, it needs to be expanded and enriched. Reach out to family and friends, those who love you as you are, "warts and all" as the saying goes.

Express your fears and your worries. Let them know how uncomfortable you are and how disappointed you feel that you cannot contribute to the family in the way you always managed in the past. Seek out ways to be a productive, even if non-working, member of the team. Take on new chores and responsibilities around the house and with the kids. Pay extra attention to your spouse. You may not be able to afford presents or a night on the town, but you can give of your time and your appreciation, gifts more valuable than anything you could buy at a store.

Share the rigors and discouragement of your job hunting efforts. Those who love you want to share in your failures as well as your successes. Encourage them to share their own feelings and fears about your plight, and express their anxieties about the future. Not only do we tend not to express our deepest fears, we also tend not to consciously formulate and define them. They just sit at the back of our minds as a faceless, nagging worry. When we fail to bring them out into the open, where they can be clearly defined and therefore contained, we live in a constant state of unease. To comfort ourselves, we look for something or someone to blame: "Everything was fine until she lost her job . . . if he hadn't got laid off, I'd be registering for college this year . . ." It is an easy slide from such vague thoughts to full-fledged blame and you become the scapegoat on which all problems can be hung.

If you are newly unemployed, take steps now to ensure that such a direction is avoided. If you have been out of work for a considerable period of time, and may have already seen this pattern develop, take the time to stop it in its tracks. Redirect your energies into developing a positive team spirit in which all can have a voice and a contribution. It can turn the destructive nature of unemployment into a lightning rod of family cohesion, strength, and deepened affection.

Author: Virginia Bola, PsyD

Christmas Loans for a New Year Without Debts

2005-12-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

For many people, a lavishly spent Christmas is sure-shot sign of the New Year being tumultuous; at least until the debts have been fully repaid. A study undertaken after the Christmas of 2004 showed that one out of every five people would continue to be in debt, i.e. not be able to clear debt loan in the same month.

Rather than carry the debt burden over to the next year, it will be much easier to carry it through Christmas loans. It is misleading if you thought that Christmas loans simply replace the debt burden incurred during this period. There are a number of advantages that result of the use of Christmas loans. Some of them have been explained below:

· A Christmas loan that is drawn for making the expenses as and when they come will force the borrower to spend within limits. Borrower has the necessary cash and he himself decides how much to spend on what item. Just as he would do with his personal resources, the borrower would assign priorities to the different expenses to be made through Christmas loans.

· When the borrower has the necessary cash to expend, he is in a better position to bargain. Thus, Christmas loans also help in reducing the cost of Christmas festivities.

· A Christmas loan drawn after the expenses have been made offers an alternative repayment method. The expenses have been made on credit, and through a Christmas loan, the debtor intends to repay the debts.

It is on the borrower to decide the timing of the Christmas loans. Many of them will prefer to take Christmas loans after the expenses have been made. A majority of the people comprising this group are not sure whether they will need the loan. Nevertheless, when the expenses increase their expected limits, they have to resort to this method. This method is good in the sense that the borrower does not make an injudicious use of the loan. Only the amount in excess of ones own capability is drawn.

Drawbacks do follow this method also. The expenses have been made on credit and a certain stipulated time period is promised for repayment. When the processing of Christmas loans starts after incurring the expenses, there is a greater probability of the loans being approved later than the time due for payment of expenses. The situation can be dangerous because creditors will demand payment and the Christmas loan is still in the half processed state.
Thus, the best time to apply for the Christmas loan will be before you plan to spend. Just when you are about to spend, you have the necessary cash ready with you to facilitate the purchase.

The time that lenders take to approve Christmas loans differs a lot with the type of loan taken, customs of the region or place the lender is in, individual case statistics etc. Therefore, it will be wiser to apply beforehand, even where borrower intends to spend first and pay later. The borrower can predict more accurately the time by which he will be in possession of the Christmas loans, and promise the time for payment accordingly.

Borrowers in the UK draw more of Christmas loans than what they intend to spend. A Christmas loan need not be spent wholly on Christmas festivities. Borrowers can use the proceeds to diverse ends. For this, the excess of Christmas loan will be very useful. Christmas loans available at inexpensive rates of interest will lessen the cost; whatever is the purpose the loan proceeds are used in.

Rate of interest is an important search criterion. The best method to compare interest rates of various banks and financial institutions is through Christmas loan calculator. The major banks and financial institutions have their interest rates listed in the calculator. Differentiations have also been made on the basis of secured or unsecured, bad credit etc. This is good to get a basic idea of the interest rate that the borrower is more likely to receive.

Security or collateral is an important question concerning Christmas loans. A secured Christmas loan, where the borrower has agreed to back repayment of loan with a lien on certain asset/ assets will be cheaper. Interest rate in a secured loan is lower than on unsecured Christmas loans.

Whatever form of does one take Christmas loan he/she will find it very useful. Nevertheless, the basic precautions that one takes in order to safeguard ones financial position needs to be in place in Christmas loans too, just as in the regular loans.

Author: Andrew Baker

Flying Stars Fengshui for 2006 : Yearly Analysis & Remedies for Main Door facing South West

2005-12-10T09:07:00.000-08:00

(Chinese Solar Year : 04.02.2006 to 03.02.2007)

Flying Stars or Fei Xing is a powerful form of Feng Shui derived from the famous Xuan Kong Fengshui. It is an Analysis of the Five Elements and Star Combinations (representing certain energy patterns) that occupy every building. Each new year these annual stars change, Qi (energy) shifts happen, bringing good and bad energy with them - thereby producing different effects.

In February 2004 all the Feng Shui Energy Patterns underwent huge transformations to the NewAge of Land Luck called Period 8 Energy Cycles. It means that a large scale evolution of the human race with completely new energy dynamics has started. The significance is that the new, vibrant energies of Period 8 impacts on the buildings differently than before and energies that were previously activated now need to be remedied, in order to reduce any bad effects from the past influences.

The Flying Stars Chart or the 9-Grid Meteor Plan for the Bing-Xu, Year of the Yang Red Fire Dog has been plotted and the effects of their energy patterns are analyzed. The analysis also contains suggested remedies/cures for reducing the impact of negative energy and recommended enhancers for increasing and improving upon the beneficial energy.

For the remedies/enhancers to be effective, they should be cleansed, energised, blessed and programmed not only for the particular individual/family but also for the specific purpose/problem. They should also be placed in the indicated location.

The direction in which your main door lies is very important to any form of Geomancy, including Fengshui & Vaastu. The primary reason for this is that the air currents and energy flow in and flow out through the mouth of the main door. Thus you receive positive energy for the year, if the main door faces a direction of auspicious stars or meteors (powerful energy bodies) and receive negative energy for the year, if the main door faces a direction of evil stars or meteors. In case negative impacts are forecast, you can simply offset the negative energy by installing the recommended remedies there. Any or all of these remedies can be reused for the coming years, the only thing is that they should be repositioned according to the new year.

Please note that the effects may be felt in varying degrees depending upon the exact compass degree of the main door.

ANNUAL FORECAST & REMEDIES FOR FLATS/HOMES/OFFICES/FACTORIES WITH MAIN DOOR FACING SOUTH WEST :

A good year where the Celebration Star brings you good name, fame and prosperity. There will also be many occasions to celebrate : awards, rewards, achievements, increments, promotions, governmental recognitions, pregnancy, new births, marriages, etc. Business people will expand the existing setup and embark on new ventures. Previous investments will payoff now and there will be surplus moneyflow. Those in employment will get promotions and increments. Females will fare better than males.

If any of you are in marketing or medical line; real estates, food or in education fields, you will flourish more. If any of you are in metal business, including jewellry, you may not get it that good. To enhance the Wealth Chi, you may place a Fengshui Water Fountain near your main door.

If you wish to have a marriage or childbirth within the year, install a potted plant with large leaves, near your main door. Light up a small green bulb that will continuously burn, 24/7, outside your main door. Minimise the colours black and blue here. Use red or green coloured pillow covers and bedspreads in the bedroom.

If any of your family is, according to the Chinese Zodiac, a Dragon or Dog or Ox or Rooster, they should wear an Amethyst Crystal Pendant around their neck. When any of these people have to sign any documents, make sure of all the fine print.

Display the Safety Talisman for 2006 in the North West sector and carry a miniature version of it always.

Door Mat Colour for the Main Door : Green or Red (on the outside).

COMMON MINIMUM REMEDY FOR ALL BUILDINGS FOR 2006 :

To minimise damage due to gossiping and rumours, arguments and disputes, avoid the colours green and blue in the center of your home. Do not place any moving water features like fish aquarium or water fountains here. Display 8 red roses without thorns and leaves in the center of your home/office/building and light up a small red coloured bulb which will burn continuously, 24/7. This is applicable for all buildings, irrespective of the direction of the main doors.

Author: Crystal Jana

Why Does Santa Bring Gifts?

2005-12-10T08:58:00.000-08:00

The history of Christmas and in particular the reasons for the giving of gifts are not known for certain, but several things are known for a fact. The traditions of Santa Claus and giving presents at Christmas time began long before the birth of Jesus Christ, although it really depends on where in the world you live as to how you believe the whole tradition started.

The giving of presents at Christmas time actually dates back over 4000 years to the Mesopotamians. They believed that every year in winter their primary god Marduk would do battle with the evil spirits of chaos. Upon Marduk's return it was necessary for the king to then pledge his allegiance to the God and he would die at the end of the year. The Mesopotamians obviously cottoned on to the fact that they were going through kings quicker than they could produce them, so they would dress a convict up as the king and treat him as though he were a king for one day. At the end of the new year festival they would kill him.

On this day they would present gifts to one another to mark the beginning of the new year and the success that Marduk had yet again bestowed on them. This is where the giving of Christmas gifts began.

St Nicholas is believed to have been born around 300 A.D and lived in what is now Turkey. He was a widely revered and loved monk due to his overwhelming kindness. His most famous act of kindness was to save three sisters from slavery by providing them with a dowry in order that they could be married.

As such a popular character he soon became the patron saint of many different groups of people, eventually resting on children and sailors. Traditionally St. Nicholas day was celebrated and remembered on December 6th, although his role as patron saint of children has seen his special day moved to coincide with Christmas.

So one thing that is certain is that Santa Claus visits us on the wrong day every single year. Celebration of Saint Nicholas should in fact be on December 6th, although the moving of St. Nicholas day to the 25th was presumably done to combine his special day with the Christian festival. If the large superstores and toy manufacturers were given the choice I'm quite sure they would rather celebrate them separately, so be warned for next year.

Author: Jessica Cander